The Miracle Mouth

EMAIL DEVOTIONAL
EASTER 2

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

      [Please enjoy this guest devotion from Kate Lopez.  Thank you, Kate!]

What does it mean to trust God with ALL your heart? I’m learning. Believe me, I’m learning.

“Honey, we had a little accident,” said my husband calmly who doesn’t usually call me on “Dadderdays” unless there’s an emergency. “Dadderday” is a special Daddy and Charlie Saturday afternoon time, just the two of them. The “boys club,” as Charlie says, “Mommies usually don’t come.” I panicked and just about hung up the phone to make the next call as my husband proceeded to tell me the two of them were at the Lititz Rec Center “having a blast at the inflatables” when a mesh net seemed to make its way into Charlie’s front teeth and pulled the teeth forward so hard that both teeth were more than a little loose (just barely hanging on for dear life, you could say). “I’m calling Charlie’s dentist!” Click.

The pediatric dentist frowned as he took a deep sigh, “Take as many pictures as you can now. He’ll get an early visit from the Tooth Fairy.” I felt empty and helpless this Friday before Christmas. Not only that, but there could be complications and delays down the road to Charlie’s permanent teeth. The dentist proceeded, “The roots above his teeth are dead. The teeth will discolor and eventually fall out. Maybe next month or maybe several months from now. It’s hard to tell when that will happen. I’m sorry.”

That night, I hung onto Proverbs 3:5-6 like I’ve never done before in between prayer after prayer. There wasn’t a thing I could do except wait to see what would happen to Charlie’s teeth (and cut his food up into small pieces so he didn’t have to bite down on it). I felt like a bad mom. Wasn’t there anything I could have done to prevent this from happening?

Two months passed, and his teeth began to tighten up. One started to discolor but then became white again after about three weeks. As days went by, both of Charlie’s front teeth became whiter and tighter! What was happening? I called the dentist and explained what was happening since Charlie didn’t have his follow-up for another several weeks. “Well, I’ve never heard of that happening before,” the nurse told me. “Do you know the God I know?” I was learning to trust God with ALL my heart.

“Trust God with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).” In my quest to be a God-centered, purpose-driven Mommy, I’m learning just as much about myself as I am about my son. When the tooth incident happened, Charlie surprisingly didn’t cry. He wasn’t upset. In fact, he was excited to be drinking smoothies and eating ice-cream (and having his food cut for him).

If I can give God complete control over my precious four-year old son, then I’d have it made! But in my limited mind, it starts in trusting God with Charlie’s teeth and believing He still performs miracles. I don’t have control over many things, but I am assured I can do three things:

1. Trust Him with ALL my heart.
2. Renounce self-reliance.
3. Know that God has the final say!

I love how John Piper puts it: “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” When we humbly admit we are helpless and draw God into every single situation, we get the help, and HE gets the glory. Thank you, sweet Jesus. Give me more of YOU!