![]() Today is my dad's birthday. I am blessed to be able to say that another year has passed and I was able to watch him celebrate it with his family all around him. Though I was not actually there in person, I was able to skype with him and be there the only way I could. It was as though I was sitting across the table from him watching him dig into his eclair with such delight that it made my heart melt. I may not have been able to enjoy the birthday treats in the same way, but it did not matter. I was there with him and all my loved ones and that was what counted. My mom, my three sisters, two brothers, their spouses, and six nieces and nephews...I truly wished I was there to hug each one of them, but God has a different plan for my life. I will do my best to submit to His will, but it is not always that easy. As I sat here thinking about everything, I remembered the last time I returned from Vermont and wrote a brief account of what was feeling. Here is a little bit of what I wrote: Driving along to visit my dad, I noticed a sign at the end of a the road of a new development that said, “Bittersweet Circle.” Up to that point I had been carefully looking around, thinking about all the memories I had experienced over my lifetime as I passed each landmark in each town. Banks we had used; grocery stores we would often have to stop at and pick up food for the six hungry children; ice cream places we often bought creemees at; state parks we spent hot afternoons swimming at; roads that we would take for shortcuts to get to work or school; gas stations we would stop at to get gas. I can still see his face clearly in my mind, as he would look through the windows at us as he pumped the gas, wiggling his little finger as a joking wave to make us laugh. His teeth would flash white through his dark beard as he laughed back at us. He was so strong and dependable. It was so simple being a child; so easy to trust, love, and hang on to every word that he said as if he was all that mattered. And he was. My parents were my everything. They were the ones who taught me about God. It was through their lives that I saw God work, God heal, God provide, God answer simple prayers....childlike faith was what I had. I believed what I saw. There was nothing to take that away from me. No voices from the outside world; no baggage that I had to fight with; just simple, childlike faith. I want that again. I want to have that simple child's faith. God gave me a song on my way up and I wanted to share the words with you. God will never change. He is the same as He was forty years ago. We change. Our bodies break down. We go through sickness because of what Adam and Eve did so many years ago. Thanks to them we need to find God again and even then, we still have to battle the fact that our bodies are made to rot and go back into the ground. We turn to dust. Only the memories are left behind, to remember all the good times we had together. We must also remember what God did for us so we can take that next step in life. I beg you to enjoy your families...enjoy your loved ones. Spend time with them; make memories; because things are going to change. There is no question about it, but you will have those memories to hang onto. And with those memories remember that God is still good. He is always good. When I was a child God was there with me, Watching over family, Providing all our needs. We had our share of trials, But His grace was new each day, Trusting Him came easy, With the faith of a child. Chorus: With the faith of a child, You focus on His face. With the face of a child, You see unending grace, Blindly holding to His hand, Trusting Him in every mile, Oh, Lord, please give me, The faith of a child once again. Well, I'm older now, I see things differently, The voices all around me, Say things are not the same, But my God never changes, The Word of God stands true, I just need to trust Him, With the faith of a child. (Written by Cara Simmons April 2014)
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