God Is On The Move

I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2

Today is Friday, April 17, 2020. Lately, I seem to have to check my calendar to make sure I know the date. A side effect of being home and social distancing. But not today. Today I know what day it is. I’ve looked forward to this day since my son Ethan sent me a copy of an email he received nineteen days ago.

Ethan is in his freshman year at SAGU. He completed his first semester online, here at home. (Which I absolutely loved!!) But of course, I knew the inevitable would happen. He wanted to move on campus. So, in January we moved him into his dorm to begin second semester. He was a little nervous, but mostly excited. One of the most amazing things I love about his school is the support system. It's a small, private university, and they truly set their students up for success. I love the culture! He had a few friends from our area already on campus, so that put me at ease. During move in, we met his resident advisor, with whom he hit it off instantly. I also loved the fact there’s a dorm pastor. Caring people supporting him every step of the way. He’s adjusted well and quickly. Grades were looking good. Ethan made friends and plugged into a great church. He did some volunteering at a homeless shelter in Dallas. He also became involved on campus. One of Ethan’s many gifts is that he has a great eye. He SEES. He sees people. He sees action. He sees moments. This makes him a talented photographer. He connected with the football coach and began taking photos and video of the football team. All of this in two months. I was happy everything was good. In fact, it couldn’t have been going any better. Then came spring break.

This momma was thrilled when her cub came home for spring break! We hadn’t spent any extended time together so I was looking forward to this visit. Relaxing, lots of cooking/eating his favorite foods, and a trip to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo were some of the plans on our agenda. But, as we all know now, that particular week turned into something else entirely-- all over our nation. Major events were cancelled everywhere. The rodeo, which here in the Houston area is important--- to students who work all year for scholarships, to vendors and small businesses whose livelihood depends on it, to the rodeo competitors, and the jobs it brings to the local economy, was shut down. This was unprecedented. My mind raced. What’s going on? How bad is this? How bad is this going to get?

The world had changed overnight. And, as I type this phrase, these words don’t seem to convey the extent of the situation. Instead of spring break being a low key week, it became a time my family and I checked into daily televised briefings. Our local and federal leaders are giving us updates on this virus that has been renamed-- Covid-19. Not only did the world change overnight, it continues to change hourly; daily . Schools remain closed. Businesses have shut their doors. Places of worship-- closed. The words social distancing and pandemic have become daily words. I won’t say normal because I don't ever want to accept those words to be normal or common. Death counts and new cases are flashed on screens everyday in graphs. Scenes of death and hot spots

all over the United States. Covid-19 everywhere we turn. Government leaders fearing the collapse of the economy. Fear and uncertainty everywhere.

But something else is also going on. At any given time, there are church services on-line. We see nurses and doctors praying on rooftops. Federal, state and local leaders asking the community to pray. People’s faith coming back to them. They are passionately sharing the hope that is Jesus Christ. Standing on the word that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes. He keeps His promises. And I’ll tell you, I’ve had to hold on to that so much, because the battle that sometimes rages on in my mind, tries to get the best of me. But God. He’s always working. Even in the midst of all this when we don’t see anything. He’s moving. On the day I couldn't get out of bed, and overwhelming sadness was trying to overtake my heart, He was working it out. He sent, not one, but several of his angels to call me, text me, message me with words of encouragement. No one knew my internal battle--but God. Those days I was reminded that my God, the God of the universe, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, cares about every detail in our lives. God. Is. In. The. Details.

So, back to Ethan’s forwarded email. Back in January he applied for a donor scholarship at his school-- there are 100+ scholarships. When he filled out the application, I told him to be praying, and praying for a $5000 scholarship. The email he received was to congratulate him-- he would be receiving an award. Typically, they have a banquet to announce the recipients. But there isn’t anything typical going on right now. They emailed a live stream link to watch the awards. Since he’s been home, he's working again as a dietary aide, so he took a break to watch it. I’m at home so I watched it here. Before it started I thanked the Lord for this gift. And so it began. They started with the $1000 awards. I clapped at every name like I was there. The speaker began the next one. “This scholarship was created by the Neill family to honor the memory of Gregory Paul Neill. The Neill Family’s heart is to make provision for students who actively portray God’s love. In the amount of $1200, the award goes to Ethan Morales.” I clapped in front of my computer! I was so proud of my son. And so grateful to the Lord and to this family who provided. I continued to watch. Something inside did not let me close my computer. So I sat and cheered on other students. I didn’t know if maybe some of his friend’s names would be announced as well. Then they announced the Eleanor R. Guynes Scholarship. The speaker went on, “This scholarship was created by Dr. Delmar and Eleanor Guynes and is perpetuated to honor the memory of the cherished former first lady of SAGU. In the amount of $3800 each, two scholarships are awarded to Makaela Elliott and Ethan Morales.”

Oh My God! I did the math quickly in my head. Both scholarships totaled $5000! Exactly what Ethan prayed for! I called him and he said he didn’t even know he could be awarded more than one! He cried tears of gratitude to our good Father!

I can't even describe my feelings! So many thoughts flood my mind! Where God leads, He provides. The finances, certainly. But something else is happening here. The relationship between a young man and his Abba Father. Ethan’s faith is not my faith or Danny’s faith. It’s not his parents' faith. It’s his own. Ethan has seen the goodness of God for himself. The Message translation says it like this, “open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to him.” Psalm 38:4

Friends, this is a difficult time. Unlike any other time in history. But know that God is still working! He is making ways because there is still much to do. Lean into God and keep your eyes looking toward heaven! God is still in control. This quote from A.W. Tozer gives me comfort. “While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who has not surrendered authority.”