For October 4th:

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.  One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.  Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.  Who are you to judge the servant of another?  To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”  Romans 14:1-4

I heard at a Women’s retreat years ago that teens are God’s last chance to get a parent’s full and undivided attention by getting us down on our knees often before God.  I think there is some truth in that, but I believe God can pull on our heart strings anytime, anywhere and the Bible tells us stories of unlikely and sometimes reluctant people who were used to draw people closer to God.

I finally released our son to God’s wisdom in 2012 when I realized I was still trying to “help” him by suggesting the best next step for him to take in almost every situation.  Luckily, he still speaks to me.  I am telling you this because I need to be more like Christ.  I can’t change on my own.  I have tried.

Our son knows me SOOO well that I don’t have to open my mouth.  He knows what I would like to say in and about almost any situation.  I sure wish I knew what Christ was thinking in every situation, especially this one--being Mom to an adult.  This is a new job description for me.

I have been in church my ENTIRE life.  I have participated in special Bible studies and mission trips.  As a teen, I questioned whether I was “saved.”  My teachers told me questioning was normal and a good sign.  I just had to believe that God would do what He said He would do.  I said those words in a prayer.  I tried to live as if I believed.  I paused in the big decisions of life to try to guess God’s will.  But for most days, I was the master of my life.  God was a trusted consultant.

Since the day that I gave up telling God what He should do next in our lives and started asking God to lead us and guide us then I finally “got it.”  Now, when I hear Christians talk about their walk with God, it all seems to make sense to me.  Maybe peace for me is that I finally understand what all those Christians had been telling me.

People have told me (all my life) that I should study my Bible every day.  If I had done that, I probably would have “gotten it” sooner.  But maybe not.  Maybe this was God’s timing so that I would feel led to write this devotional for you to read this very day.

Judy Driggans