The Steps of a Righteous Man/Woman Are Ordered

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."  Psalm 37:23


This week my mother started driving again.  Thursday she drove herself to Cardiac Rehab and did well.  About 1 a.m. the following morning she went into atrial fib again.  I spent the day with her, and thank God she converted into normal sinus rhythm by that afternoon.  She was extremely tired and weak (which is part of a-fib) and this particular day she didn't want to keep some appointments or drive.  Now you have to know my mother.  She goes to the beauty shop twice a week and has her hair done.  All of my life (50 years) my mother has NEVER done her own hair. She is convinced it looks hideous and I get really concerned about her when she doesn't keep her hair appointments.  I have even known her to go and get her hair done before she had the surgery and her heart rate was in the 30s (yes, you heard me correctly, 30s!).  Her philosophy is basically "I don't care if I am on death's door, I am going to look good when I go!"  Thank God that is no longer her situation!!  This particular day, which was Friday,  she had a hair appointment and asked me to take her.  I had not planned on going anywhere  until later in the afternoon and I looked pretty rough myself.  I went into her bathroom splashed some water on my bedhead and threw on what makeup I had with me and hoped I would not see anyone I knew once we got there!  I sat and read my "Nook" as I waited for her to finish with her appointment.  I never thought anything about it because I didn't see a soul there I knew.  At the end of my mother's appointment as she wrote her check out to pay an older lady came and sat beside me.  Her hairdresser had just finished her hair and out of the blue, she sat down next to me and began to talk to me.  She began to tell me about how she was widowed and how her son-in-law was wonderful to her since her husband had died in 2010.  He buys her groceries because she hates to grocery shop and trims the trees in her yard and just does all the things her husband had done before he died.  She then got a far away look in her eyes and began to tell me how her husband had died and what guilt she felt because she couldn't stand to be in the room as he passed away.  Tears began to well in her eyes as she described to me how he had been a cardiac patient and how he had, had quadruple bypass surgery and had stayed in intensive care for some time.  Finally, the doctors were just not able to save him.  She was devestated because she was riddled with guilt that she wasn't by his side (he was on life support and unconscience) when he died.  They were married for 51 years.   As she spoke suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "Pay close attention!  This is a 'God moment'".  I knew this woman was literally tormented and unjustly so, because she could not stay by her husband's side as they turned off all the machines that kept his body "alive".  I knew it was the enemy that tormented her with this memory.   I had no idea what on earth to say to comfort this precious lady!   I knew God, Himself would have to give me the words and suddenly as I thought this they began to flow!  By the time the lady left she was laughing and the tears were gone.  God had caused our paths to cross and God ministered to a huge burden of grief she had carried for almost two years!  I had no intention of going to the beauty shop that day.  I really had other appointments I was going to have to cancel in order to do this, but God knew what lay ahead!  I literally felt this dear woman's pain!  As I sat beside her, I began to tear up with her!  I thought about Jesus and how the Bible says He is aquianted with our "griefs and sorrows" and He bore them!  I thought about the scripture that says, "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted!"  I think when we go through things that are extremely hurtful or traumatic God has  a double blessing waiting for us.  The Bible does say He will give us beauty for ashes the oil of joy for mourning!  It also says He will give us a double recompense for all that we have lost!  How incredibly good God is!   I could not get that lady off of my mind.  I prayed for her the rest of the evening off and on, but I also thanked God our paths had crossed.  You could tell she was so sweet and so vulnurable.  The burden of the grief had made her like a child again!  I am sure that is what her son-in-law senses, too and why he cares for her as much as he does.  Thank God I did not call  my daugther to take my mother.  Thank God I didn't allow stress to pressure me into time confinements.  I would have missed being blessed by this encounter with this dear lady if I had.  Even seemingly inconveniences have their purpose as we are abiding in Christ!  Thank God my mother and I had prayed together earlier over some issues concerning things that the enemy wanted to use to bring us into concern and stress.  Our minds were free and our hearts were peaceful so that the voice of the Holy Spirit could easily be heard!  Had my mind not been free of stress and upset and "oh, this puts me in a tight with my schedule" no difference would have been made in this lady's life and I would have missed out on a blessing in mine.  Don't stress and fret, my friend, when you are a little late, or things don't go according to what has been planned.  There are reasons for delays that aggravate you!   God has ordered your steps if you have committed your way to Him.  Sometimes you will understand the delay.  Other times you will have no idea why the delay occurred but, believe me, God has a reason!  Again, your trust in Him will play a very key role in keeping your peace and walking into blessings you never planned on or knew was there!  How wonderful when we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.  I don't want to miss out on anything God has for me!  When we begin to see the glass "half full" instead of "half empty" we will view things so differently and much joy will be attained instead of much upset!  Remember, your steps are order of the Lord and He will lead you into great and mighty things you know not of!  Have a blessed day, my precious reader, today and everyday!!