Five Miuntes

Without very much prompting I learned in the first five minutes of our drive last week that Samantha has 3 children, ages 7, 2 and 8 months, that she had her tubes tied because “My gosh, I'm so young and I don't know how I could handle another”, that her grandmother who she was very close to died at age 65 of a totally unexpected massive stroke 22 weeks ago which lead her father, who has been in and out of prison most of his adult life and who currently lives in a house that she pointed out to me on our route, to ingest 79 sleeping pills in an unsuccessful attempt to take his life, that she has had her braces on and off for seven years because she can't have them on while she is pregnant and that she is a stay at home mom because her fiance has a good job as a crew chief at a local cement block company.

I learned all of this pretty much before you guys could tweet “Nice cup of Joe this morning”.

Yesterday I was reading a story about the prophet Elijah. Because of the wickedness of King Ahab Elijah said that there would be a drought in the land. He hid from Ahab on the east side of the Jordan near a brook with running water and was fed by ravens that God directed to bring him bread and meat both morning and night. When the brook dried up God sent Elijah to a certain town and as he was entering it's gates he met a woman who was gathering sticks. Elijah tells the woman to bring him a little water and to make him a small bread cake. The woman replies that she is a widow with a young son and that she only has enough flour and oil to make one final meal for them both. Then they would wait for death. She was picking up the sticks to cook it.

Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.'” (I Kings 17: 13-14)

Imagine how difficult of a decision this is for the woman. A guy she just met is telling her to trust God by giving up the first portion of all she and her son have left for a promise she can't see or even hope for. She really only has a minute to make up her mind and tell Elijah she will do as he asks. The result of her trusting God is that for 3 ½ years The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty. Another benefit was that Elijah came to stay with them, blessing her household, and when her son became ill and died Elijah prayed and the son came back to life.

Sometimes God speaks to us and we only have a short time to answer. I wish I could tell you that you will have the rest of your life to think it over but apparently it doesn't work that way. Five minutes may tell your life story. God loves you. Trust Him.