He Cares for You
By Elaine Cook Carr, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
I grew up in what was then, a small town, in the Florida panhandle. Things were very different there in the 1950s and 60s than they are today. There was still a great deal of undeveloped land, and there were many neighborhoods where only a few houses stood. My paternal grandparents lived in such a place and right next door to them was a large vacant lot that had never been cleared and was densely populated with oaks, pines, palmetto bushes, and all manner of dense underbrush. We visited my grandparents regularly and our parents reminded us with each visit that we were NOT to go onto that property for any reason. I don’t know why we never questioned it, but we didn’t and we stayed OUT of there. Of all the grandchildren we were the only ones that lived locally and so we were the only cousins aware that the territory next door was “forbidden”. We had glorious fun when all the cousins came to town. There were 17 of us all together so we were quite the adventuresome crew and often found mischief to get into but for some reason, we had never ventured onto that lot until one fateful day.
As most southern children of the day, we rarely wore shoes in the summertime and so there we were outside in the Florida sunshine having a blast until someone suggested we go play in the “woods” on the vacant lot. My internal alarm went off and I was pretty vocal and insistent that we stay away but since I could not explain why we should not play there, my “older and wiser” cousins laughed at me and asked, “What can it hurt?” Reluctantly I joined them and in groups of two and three, we slowly began to ease into the shadowy woods until suddenly there were blood-curdling screams. We had discovered the hard way the very reason we were warned to stay out of there! You see, the ground was literally covered in well-camouflaged prickly pears (a form of needly cactus). If you’ve never stepped on one (and I hope you never) it is indescribably painful. It’s very much like being stuck by a thousand needles someone has heated in a furnace –all at once! Our screams brought all 8 of the parents and our grandparents running out of the house. Our daddies set up a brigade passing children off to each other until we were handed over to the mommies who quickly set up first aid stations.
Our moms spent the rest of that day tweezing cactus spines out of tender feet, applying salve, drying tears, and comforting us. Of course, MY parents asked, “Why did you let them go over there- you know you’re not allowed on that lot?” I was ashamed and could not answer that question and had no logical explanation for disobeying a long-respected rule. I had no reason not to join in the fun other than the fact my loving parents had told me not to. I had no understanding of the pain and suffering that awaited me for one small act of disobedience. That incident taught me that above all, my parents loved me, cared deeply for me, and their rules were for my protection.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Isn’t that just the way we are with God? We often believe His commandments to be negative things that deny us what we view as pleasurable and good. We forget that He loves us and wants only what is best for us. I paid a heavy, painful price for my disobedience that day, a lesson I have retained to this day.
Just as my parents plainly told us to stay away from the vacant lot, God's law is very clearly laid out for us in His Word. Do we always understand why we should or shouldn’t do something? Well of course not. But, Scripture teaches us enough about the character of God to know that He loves us and cares for us. His law is for our good and His glory. Disobedience often leads to painful natural consequences. The experience in the cactus patch gave me an invaluable experience and a better understanding. My parents loved me and their goal was to protect me. My willful disobedience caused me minor, temporary pain. Disobeying a holy God brings a whole different level of consequences. He loves us and wishes to protect us:
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
PRAYER
Lord help us to understand that Your love and Your law are perfect. We thank You for Jesus who obeyed You perfectly so that we might spend eternity with You.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elaine Cook Carr is a 38-year veteran educator, now retired, and has been married to a wonderful man for almost 48 years. He is also now retired from nearly 40 years of full-time pastoral ministry. In addition to teaching children with special needs, I have, over the years, been deeply involved in both women's and children's ministries in multiple capacities. We are parents to two adult children (a pastor and an RN) and have four precious grandchildren ranging in age from 15 to 5.
In February of 2020, we moved back "home" to Panama City, Florida where we both grew up after having been away for over 41 years. Our plans were to immediately begin building a home on the land we've owned since the beginning of our marriage. This post Category 5 Hurricane Michael, and this pandemic world has consistently reminded us that God's timeline is not always ours and that we can rest in His Sovereign will, trusting that He has a plan and is completely in charge. We hope to be moved in by the beginning of February 2023. God is good!
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Originally published Monday, 14 August 2023.
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