Sitting with the Lord and hearing the Holy Spirit speak this message to my heart,

“Watch for God!”

Early on when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, the Lord impressed on me that our journey was greater than the cancer. And I remember being prompted by the Holy Spirit to pay attention to the people we met on the journey and how we interacted with others. Our walk through this journey would speak volumes about our faith in the hard places of life. So we watched for God in the cancer center, in the hospital, in our workplaces and in our relationships. We were careful about our focus on the journey. It’s true that we give most of our energy to what we mainly focus on. Granted there were days where the pain was so overwhelming and all we could do was call on God. He understood and faithfully carried us through those times. But on those days when we watched for God, wow the unforgettable encounters with the people who blessed us without even knowing. I saw God in the love between a couple that was sitting across from us in the waiting room and how the wife took such good care of him. In the mother who was there to support her son and in the girlfriends who wore matching tee shirts of support for their friend. It was an amazing experience in the midst of such a difficult place. Watching for God put a smile on our face on days when all we wanted to do was cry. Watching for God opened our eyes to all the signals the Holy Spirit was sending our way to remind us of the Father’s tender loving care. Last week I was sitting with a friend at the hospital. I was thinking about how blessed she was with the strategic location of her room. It was a corner room with the largest space on the floor with a panoramic view of the city. One nurse joked that she was going to have her lunch with us and enjoy the view. All day in the midst of her pain, that view offered such comfort and hope. Then about midnight, I happened to look through an opening in the blinds and saw a “cross” on the side of the building lit up with lights. I excitedly raised the blinds so she could see and of course pulled out the camera. We marveled and thought “Wow look at God!” Watching for God will point you in the direction of peace. Watching for God will produce deep down joy. Watching for God will open our eyes to God’s hand at work in our lives. My husband Stephen used to say, that no matter what he was going through, he would pray to see God’s hand in the situation. He would say, “as long as I know the hand of God is in it then I know it’s going to be all right.” Watching for God increases our faith. Moses prayed for God to show him His ways. God always showed up! He is faithful like that! Some go on these great expeditions to whale watch. I’ve heard that it is an awesome adventure almost majestic sight to behold when the whale surfaces out of the water! How much more awesome and majestic it is to behold the hand of God at work in our lives especially in the hard places! Just like some folks whale watch, I’m going to “God watch!” Just like God my Father watches over me, I’m going to watch for Him! He’s proven Himself strong over and over again in my life. He never fails!

Just sharing my morning musings in hopes that you will watch for God in the hard places of life. It’s easy to see Him when things are going good. But if we watch for God when the way is difficult, we will behold the awesome majestic hand of God at work. We will hold on a little longer and everything will be all right!