God Knows
Our family recently celebrated our 20-year Americaversary – 20 years since we sold up and moved our family of 6, almost 7, across the pond from the UK to the USA. It had been a long and emotionally exhausting process, 16 months of waiting for our visa approval, an unexpected positive pregnancy test the same week we sold our house and moving into a 2-bedroom house with mom for what turned out to be 5 months!!
We arrived in March to a blizzard, and more snow than any of us had ever seen! I distinctly remember waking up the next morning at 5am, with all the kiddos running into our room, as our body clocks were set 5 hours ahead. We looked at each other and said, “We’re home!” It was amazing. I loved England. I loved our families. I loved our friends. But knowing we were in the centre of God’s will for our family was indescribable.
Most of our culture shock was, and still is, centred on food!!! Oh how I’d love to be able to grab a pork pie, some steak and kidney pudding, a scotch egg, and most of all, real, good, BACON!!! Not to mention a good old steamed chocolate pudding or a jam roly-poly! And don’t even get me started on English chocolate. Eating Hershey’s is considered a punishment for bad behaviour in our house!!! Any visitors from England always have a shopping list of foods to bring, and most of it is chocolate!
So back to our Americaversary. On the day, our dear friends invited us over for dinner, and we were all hoping she would make Stromboli, as it is the favourite thing for my kids that she makes. Imagine our surprise when Stromboli WAS on the menu, but as an extra. We sat down to a delicious English meal. Our friends had got a library book on English cooking, plus searched Google, and came up with meat pie, chips and mushy peas, something they had heard us talk about often. To finish off, there was cake and custard.
What a gift that meal was to us. Not only was it prepared by special friends for a special occasion, but they had put so much thought into making something so personal. They brought a little bit of home into our present.
Isn’t that just how God treats us? He knows just what we need when we need it. Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” The thing I love about God though, is that He doesn’t just stop there! He LOVES to give good gifts to us, His children. Matthew 7:11, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” It is not selfish of us if we ask God for a want instead of a need once in a while. He loves us. He delights in us. He wants to lavish His gifts upon us.
God knows your heart and the things you yearn for. Both my father and my father-in-law passed away many years ago, yet my kids have a wonderful “Grandpa” here in our church family. That realization hit me one day when I was having a little pity party not long after my dad’s death. It was like a warm hug from above to know that He’d already put a grandpa in place for just that situation.
You probably don’t need a grandpa or a meat pie today, but whatever it is that your heart yearns for, tell it to God. He already knows! He’s probably already got it in hand, you just haven’t noticed yet! He’s a good, good Father.
About the Author:
Corinne and her hubby Allan moved to the states from England 20 years ago, and have pastored in a small town in NW PA ever since. They have 10 lovely children, and they have her whole heart; raising them in Christ is her true calling. 3 John 1:4 Corinne has no greater joy than to hear that her children are walking in the truth!