If you have seen the 1983 classic, "A Christmas Story", you may remember the scene where the mother is about to take her first bite of dinner when Ralphie, her oldest son, interrupts her to ask for "More red cabbage, please." As she gets up from the table to fulfill his request, the narrator says, "My mother hadn't had a hot meal for herself in 15 years."

Mothers are often used to eating lukewarm or cold food. That's why we cherish eating out so much!

Something else that a lot of mothers are used to going without is sleep. When our children are still living at home, no matter how old they are, if they work nights or go out for the evening, we usually don't fall soundly asleep until we know that they are home safely.

When our youngest son, who is now 44, was in high school, he worked weekends at a fast food burger restaurant. He walked there and back, as it was only five minutes away.

Since his responsibilities included helping the manager close the restaurant, we understood that he wouldn't be finished with his shift until around 1 a.m.

On one particular Friday, it was 2 a.m., and he was still not home!

I called the restaurant — no answer. I called his manager — no answer. "Lord," I prayed, "what should I do?"

My husband Marcelo was sleeping like a log. I was about to wake him up when I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, "Jehovah shammah."

That stopped me dead in my tracks. At that time, I didn't know what "Jehovah shammah" meant, but I knew the voice of the Holy Spirit.

I began to relax and ask God to forgive me for being so frightened and for not trusting Him more. It was only a matter of minutes later that I heard our son at the door. He had gone to a pancake house for breakfast with the manager and the other workers on his shift!

The next day, after searching through our concordance and Bible dictionary, I found that "Jehovah shammah" in Hebrew means "the Lord is there", and it appears in the following verse:

Ezekiel 48:35b – And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there. (KJV)

God was with our son the whole time, and He was there with me also. Upon graduation, our son proudly served in the United States Marine Corps, and I had peace, knowing that the Lord was there.

Isn't it wonderful how the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word of God, giving us the comfort and reassurance that the Lord is there!

Prayer: Lord, thank You for being there in the joyful outcomes as well as in the adverse, inexplicable ones. May our faith and trust remain strong, knowing always that You are there. Amen.

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About the author:

Cheryl Mariano (Cheremiah) <cherylmariano@gmail.com>
Casa Grande, Arizona, USA
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