By Since this past fall, I have attended a weekly prayer meeting. It is a small intimate group that has had a tremendous impact on my life. Praying for others and having them also praying for you can change your life.
I have had a few experiences during this prayer time and last week I had a vision of some sorts. They are not always very clear in the meaning of them at the time but eventually they always make sense. In this one I was either on land or on a boat looking through a spy glass like you see pirates using in the movies. I could see a warship which was huge and very intimidating. I could feel the dread building inside of me not knowing what I was supposed to do about this ship. Then as I took the spy glass away from my face, I could see the enormous expanse of the ocean and that warship looked like a tiny speck on the horizon. I was taken back by how quickly my feelings changed. Suddenly I did not feel the dread and knew that it wasn’t a big deal anymore.
I shared it with the group thinking maybe it meant about looking at the bigger picture and would mean something to someone else but really wasn’t sure about its meaning for me or even if it was for me, at all……but God knew what was coming.
Later that day we had what is called a critical juncture meeting for my adult daughter who has severe autism at a center that provides programs for her. Her behaviors have been escalating over the past few months, and changes needed to be made. Unfortunately, due to limited staff able to work with her and her property destruction, they completely removed a day of her being able to go to the center and cut her other days shorter by two hours.
As upset as I was, I understood the logic and reasoning behind it and also knew that when behaviors would get back to the way they were before, that she could go back to her regular schedule, but the actual sting and seriousness of the situation hurt, nevertheless.
I came home and did the usual things that evening: making dinner, doing laundry, trying to wrangle kids to do their chores and still trying to figure out what medical, psychological, and environmental impacts on her could be causing the change in behavior and what we could control and what we couldn’t.
The next morning as I was driving home from dropping her off, I told myself that I wasn’t going to let this hold me down and we would figure this out and get back to the way life has been. As I said this the vision of the warship on the horizon came flooding back to me.
When they gave me that news, I felt like a bomb had dropped on me and was feeling overwhelmed by the monstrosity of the situation. But when I stopped focusing on the one thing and looked around at the bigger picture, it didn’t seem so overwhelming after all. They didn’t completely stop her from coming and were making changes on their part to try and help her also. God was trying to tell me not to hyper-focus on that one detail and not to be filled with anxiety and dread. So I turned on some praise and worship music and began to worship instead of worrying about the warships.
We tend to hyperfocus on the issue that seems unconquerable but God sees the whole picture and instead of saying, “God, this is how big my problem is,” we should be saying, “Problem, this is how big my God is.” He’s got your back! Always!
We would love to hear from you about times God has shown you things or prepared you for things. You can comment here or reach out to me at: moppinguptheblessings@gmail.com or on our facebook group: Mopping up the Blessings.
Tammy Bassett is a speaker and the author of the Mopping Up Your Blessings blog. She was born and raised a country girl who’s roots run deep in the mountains of Appalachia. She has worked a wide variety of jobs ranging from radio to insurance agent. She is now a stay-at-home mom, who along with her husband, are raising five daughters (ages 10 to 25), seven cats and one dog. She uses her accounting and business administration degree to help run her busy household.
She loves spending time with her family and homeschooling her two youngest children. She spends a lot of her day trying to conquer the obstacles in her home. With four of her children still living at home the laundry pile (nicknamed Mt. Wash-more) is her nemesis. Some days she wins and some days she doesn’t, but she always gets up the next day and tries again.
She also loves camping with her family as long as there is a camper with air conditioning, a comfy bed, and indoor plumbing. Her downfall is her obsession with iced coffee. Thankfully the closest Starbucks is an hour from her home, or she would be broke. She also loves reading and learning new skills such as homesteading, being more self-sustainable, gardening and foraging.
She relates the most to her favorite animal, the alpaca. They are both kind of weird and look like they are two months past due on a haircut. Much like alpacas she makes a gentle humming noise when happy and if irritated she often stamps the ground with her feet. Her husband has refused to buy her an alpaca much to her disappointment.
But more than anything, she loves the Lord and is growing more in her faith each day and hopes to inspire others to do the same. She wants everyone to understand that God’s grace is truly amazing and has changed her from the inside out and he can do the same for you.
by leaps and bounds 