Flower’s For Valentine’s Day

A heartwarming true story of God's love!

It was a cold winter day on January 23^rd, 2004, and my non-believing husband had just moved out and left me. He broke the news to me the night before. I was not heartbroken because the years leading up to his moving out had been full of strife. He had emotionally checked out of our marriage long before he decided to physically move out. Before my husband moved out, I used to lie awake in bed and think to myself, "It is lonelier being married and being ignored day after day than it would be to actually live alone." It turns out I was right. After he had moved out and I had settled into my new life as a single mom, my life became more peaceful.

The days following my husband leaving left me feeling completely devastated. I wondered how I was going to support myself and my seven-year-old son. How was I going to earn an income and pay my bills? Being a full-time mom, out of the work force for seven years and having Agoraphobia (a severe panic disorder that has left me housebound except for the small comfort zone of about a 10 block radius around my home that I can drive) had put me at a huge disadvantage. I focused on getting the basement suite fixed up and ready to rent out as soon as possible, which would help pay my bills. My parents came into town one weekend to help. They spent over a lot of money out of their own pocket, helping me renovate the basement suite. I am truly thankful and blessed to have their help and support.

Now Valentine's Day would soon be here and I was thinking about this being my first Valentine's Day as a single mom. Even though for the past few years my husband had stopped celebrating Valentine's Day with me, just the thought of not having a valentine seemed very sad. One day I found myself standing in the Safeway grocery store, staring at the beautiful variety of fragrant, bright, colorful flowers. There was a tiny yellow rose bush that caught my eye. How cheerful and bright it looked. I wanted to buy it but I knew that I had to keep myself on a tight budget.

I had been praying and leaning on God throughout this whole process and I knew He was listening and caring for me. I have an Easter Lily plant that has been hanging in the same spot and in the same pot for the past 10 years and it has never bloomed, not at Easter or any other time. On the morning of Valentine's Day, I woke up and I noticed my Easter Lily was in full bloom, with not only one beautiful Easter Lily, but two on the end of a very long stalk. I was in awe, I didn't even see the stalk growing leading up to that; it was like it grew overnight. It wasn't until later that week that I realized how significant that moment was. I realized that God had sent me those two lilies for Valentine's Day to show me how much He loved me and that he was caring for me and hearing my every prayer. Not only that, but I believe He sent me two lilies on the end of one stalk to tell me that He will take care of my son and myself and that I should not worry because He loves me and He will meet our needs. I was filled with so much peace; it was like I could feel His loving presence all around me.

That wasn't the only message I received from God that weekend. During my morning devotional reading from "Our Daily Bread," I could not help but feel like the message that day was meant for me. It was titled, "Starting Over," and it was about a mother and her son named Justin, who was in the first grade. My son's name is Justin, he is in grade two and we are starting over. Those feelings I had before of God's loving presence, they were back now in full force as I read the devotional reading that morning.

Once I put all of the pieces together, I stared at those lilies for a very long time. I took many pictures, one is attached below. I wanted to seize that moment and keep it close to my heart forever. I felt so special and so loved. The feelings I had that day were overwhelming and still surge through me as I write this message. In the midst of my personal chaos, I am at peace. For my God is the God of comfort and peace. I know God is at work in my life. Everything that is happening in my life, God can and will use for His greater purpose. I just have to be patient and wait for the calm after the storm. Our God is an awesome God!!

Over the years I have found that God often confirms things for me by either using "The Daily Bread" devotionals or His Living Word. There have been many times now that I have been wondering or struggling with something and the very next day, there it is in black and white, my answer.

Why was Jesus tempted after being baptized?

December 12, 2007

Matthew 4:1-11

Have you ever wondered why Jesus, after being baptized by John, was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil? Notice that the devil does not even begin tempting Jesus until he has been without food for 40 days and 40 nights? That would make Jesus a very hungry man.

I believe that is very similar to the temptations we face today. The devil waits until we are in a desperately hungry place in our hearts, whether we are feeling extremely lonely, extremely angry, extremely rejected or hurt. Whatever it is in our circumstances, you can pretty much guarantee that the devil will notice our weak and vulnerable position and take full advantage of it by bringing something extremely tempting into our line of sight or train of thought.

When the devil begins tempting Jesus, he tells Jesus to turn the stones into bread so he can eat since he is so hungry. Jesus responds by quoting from the Word of God (out loud), "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Notice how Jesus uses the Word of God against the devil's schemes. The bible says,(NIV) Ephesians 6:11,12,

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The quote he responded with is so true. I like the way my sons bible phrases it:

"People need more than bread for their life, they must feed on every word of God."

In order for us to be able to resist the devil as Jesus did, we need to be very familiar with the Word of God. How do we do this? By reading His Word daily, by setting aside quiet time each day to read His Word. Many of you are saying, "I am just too busy to have time to read the bible." If Jesus were standing in front of you right now asking you to spend time with him each day, would you still be too busy? Your priorities will be clear in the way you choose to spend your time, and yes it is a choice. If you have troubles understanding the bible when you read it, then perhaps consider buying a different translation that will make it easier for you to understand. The New Living Translation is my sons bible and it is written in very easy to understand, modern English. Also, pray and ask the Lord to help you understand what you are about to read.

Once you begin to read His Word daily, you will begin to notice that He will speak to you very clearly through his Word. Some days you will read a verse or several verses that are exactly what you needed to hear at that very moment. Other days you will be reading His Word and you will be feeling conviction over something you now know you have to make right.

When you first start setting aside some time to read His word, it may feel like a chore. Do it anyway! After awhile, I promise you, you will begin to look forward to that quiet time you spend with God in His Word. You will begin to crave it, need it.

When the devil comes a knocking to tempt you (and he will) whilst you are in your "desert", you will be equipped. (NIV) Ephesians 6:13-18 says,

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."

Don't be fooled into believing that the devil does not tempt people like that these days. The devil and his army are still very active. Three times the devil tempted Jesus in that desert and three times Jesus responded by quoting scripture. After the third time, the devil left. I feel like I also need to point out in Luke 4:13, which says,

"When the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came." The devil won't just try to tempt you one, two or three times. He will take advantage of every opportunity he can find. Not to worry though, keep reading and you will find out why you need only to be alert rather than worried.

The scripture says in (NIV) James 4:7

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

That is exactly what he did with Jesus in the desert and that is exactly what he will do with you if you use the full armor of God. I can tell you from my own personal experience right now, my desert is called "loneliness." I grew up needing affirmation and attention from my father, but not getting it, which led me to the devil's cheap alternative. That was by getting attention from boys. I became a boy crazy teenage girl. I then married a man who also did not give me the affirmation and attention I so badly craved. Then my husband left me and I was all alone.

Until that point in my life, I always looked to a man to provide me with my value, my self-worth, my reason for living, my joy, etc. If I was not in love with Jesus now and if I was not allowing Him to fill up my need for love, self-worth and value, then I would most certainly be resorting back to my old way of life, which was getting attention from a man.

This "desert of loneliness" has been teaching me how to lean on God in a much more personal way. It has taught me to run to him with all of my needs. And you know what, he meets all of them. There is still, of course, the desire to have a companion to share my life with. I believe when I make it through this desert of "loneliness" and learn the lessons that God wants me to learn, he will provide me with a suitable companion. As any loving father is, he will be sure that this suitable companion will meet his standards and have his blessing.

In the meantime, and I am speaking from personal experience here, the devil is busy trying to tempt me. He knows my weakness is "loneliness." He knows how I used to fill up that need and he is constantly scheming up ways to provide his cheap alternative in the form of inappropriate male temptation. I run to Jesus, and I run to his Word and He helps me. I put on the full armor of God and the devil flees from me.

I believe Jesus was tempted in the desert for two main reasons:

1. So Jesus would show us how to resist the devil's temptations.
   
2. So Jesus would understand what temptation feels like so he would better understand our struggle.