Lee’s mom and dad hit a deer on their way to New Mexico for Thanksgiving. They were unhurt, but their car was totaled, and it was cost and time prohibitive to come here after that. You might think, based on the reactions from our children, that it wasn’t that big of a deal.

However, last night, David came and tapped on our door. His nose was all stuffed up, he said. After a little bit of questioning and reassurances didn’t seem to help ease his mind, I realized that he was bothered about something else. So I asked what else was bothering him, and he started to cry. He was sad and disappointed about grandparents not coming.

Of course, my heart goes out to him. It’s hard to see your children hurting, even if there’s no blame for the sadness. God is good, because He is using this event to remind me that our children learn about the goodness of God from disappointments, too. I tried to say something comforting to him, and then he went back to bed. Then I had a thought.

I went and got a Bible, and took it to him. I found a flashlight and asked if he would like to read Psalm 23 if he couldn’t go to sleep. He nodded. I opened the Bible to the right place, put the flashlight on the Bible and put it on the end of his bed. He might have read, and he might not have, but what’s important is that he learns that God is our refuge and strength. I want to teach my children the process of turning to God when they are sad. I want him to know that disappointments remind us that our joy is to be found in God, and not merely His good gifts. Perhaps God will use this experience to show him his need of salvation.I am praying that he will see his need of the Good Shepherd.

Disappointments are hard, but they are also a blessing. I am grateful for the answer to prayer of insight into my quiet son’s soul. I’m praying that God will give me wisdom to minister to him further.

I wanted to talk today about encouraging one’s self. I love Psalm 46 and Isaiah 40. David says his favorite is Psalm 23. What Scripture do you go to when you are in need of encouraging yourself?

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