The blessing of a good book and prayer

     When she (Klara) lay on her great soft bed in the hayloft, to which Heidi had also climbed, she looked through the round, open window, out a the twinkling stars, and, completely charmed, exclaimed, "Oh Heidi, see it is just as if we were riding in the sky in the high carriage!"
     "Yes, and do you know why the stars are so full of joy, and wink at us so with their eyes?" asked Heidi
     "No, I don't know; what do you think about it?" asked Klara.
     "Because they see up in heaven how well the dear Lord directs everything for people, so that they need have no worry and can be safe, because everything will happen for the best.  That delights them so' see how they wink, that we may be happy too! But do you know, Klara, we must not forget our prayers; we must ask the dear Lord to think of us, when He is directing everything so well, that we may always be safe and never be afraid of anything.
Heidi, by Joanna Spyri




     What a wonderful gift it was to hear that as Ryan read aloud from Heidi at the end of a very stressful day for me.  I felt so withered, so tired.  Yet, I had many great tender mercies that day too.  How blessed I am for His directing hand in our lives.  Court cases will end. Ryan's delay with math class will work out just fine. Brianne's surgery will be wonderful for her hearing and speech problems. My wedding ring will be fixed (thankfully I found the diamond--a definite tender mercy in being able to find it!) Delaney's fears and challenges will be worked through.
     Why, because I'm not in charge and "the Lord directs everything for people,so that they need have no worry and can be safe, because everything will happen for the best."


Oh how I love reading a good book!

     "When the two little girls that night looked up from their beds at the starlight, Heidi said, "Haven't you been thinking all day long today how good it is that the dear Lord doesn't give us what we pray so terribly hard for, when He knows of something much better?" 
     "Why do you say that now, Heidi?" asked Klara.
      "Don't you know, because I prayed so hard in Frankfurt that I might go home right away, and because I couldn't go, I thought the dear Lord had not heard me. But, do you know, if I had gone right away, you would never have come up on the mountain, and you wouldn't have got well."
     "But Heidi," she began again, "then we ought not to pray for anything, because the dear Lord certainly has always something better in mind than we know and ask Him for."
     "O Klara, you really do not think so?" Heidi hastened to say.  "We ought to pray to the dear Lord every day, and about every single thing; for then He will know that we do not forget that we reeive everything from Him. And if we forget the dear Lord, He will forget us too; your grandmamma told me that. But , you know, if we do not receive what we would like, we must not think the dear Lord has not listened, and stop praying, but we must pray like this, "Now I kow, dear Lord, that You have something better in store, and I will be glad that You will be so good to me."


Faith and trust.