I was struck with a wake up call yesterday afternoon, but not in the ordinary sense. No, this was about the overflowing grace and strength that our Father gives freely to those who are His.
I've never felt the bond so strong, of that of a brother or sister in Christ. Never before have I seen the connection so strong, stronger than a braided steel sheet, nor felt such a friendship when you've not indeed yet met.
To give a bit of background to what I am getting at, I'll give a bit of the history from the past few weeks -- if you know me personally, you'll likely already know of what I'm about to speak of, but if you are a brother that I've not yet met, I'll explain now.
On the late morning of Wednesday, October 30th, I was coming in from the field, finishing moving the cattle fence, when, as I came upon the house, riding the ATV, I see my mother and sisters running frantically out the door. I, seeing that they were headed towards the car, shouted something like 'what's going on?'(a little more intense than that) only to get the response 'dad cut himself with the chainsaw, we think it's pretty bad...'
Without waiting for them to reach the vehicle, I hit the gas and tore out to the back pasture, where my father was going to be cutting wood, without hesitation. Just as I flew through the pasture at who knows what speed, my mind was running a million miles an hour. I wasn't thinking about the extra workload that would be issued to my plate, I wasn't thinking about the medical bills sure to follow, I was thinking about what it was exactly that I was doing....
You see, me and my father have never gotten along too well. And it's not that that I don't care for him, quite on the contrary. But I never truly realized that, no matter how large or numerous our disagreements, I have a deep love for my father. One I've never shown, nor do I expect to truly show, for that's just how I am.
Now, after twelve hours in the hospital, a grueling surgery to repair two tendons and do the best to repair the mangled flesh, my mother, father and sister all returned home. It was at this point when the idea of the heavy workload that was now placed upon me sunk in.
There wasn't much to do around the farm, when it was me and my father running it - but then change that to just me, and you have a completely different story, not to mention trying to maintain now minimum hours at my job on a horse ranch.
Now, it's been a few weeks and things have settled down a bit. We've divided the work up a bit between me and my sisters, and are getting along just fine. We've been beyond blessed with the help from those in our church!
Now to bring this back to my original topic -- The Power of Prayer -- never underestimate it.
I received a message from an acquaintance friend of a friend from down in Texas. She had previously heard about my father and had iterated that she would keep my father and family in her prayers, but this time she was asking how he and things were. She said that she and her whole family have been praying for me and my father, and entire family, while we face this trial.
This struck my heart. We've never met, we've had minimal interaction, and here she is expressing her worry and concern for me and my family.
This, in my opinion, is a true example of a brother and sister in Christ. The concern of others, even those you don't know well, or even at all. This has not only been a realization for myself, but also an encouragement and light to what I ought to strive for.
Now, I ask that you would keep my family in your prayers. We've a long and bumpy road ahead, and we'll need God's strength to guide us through.
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Now I'll end this here, and thank you for your time if you've read this far. Lord be with you!
~Hananiah
