His Eye on the Sparrow

Well, today is a fun day because at the Our Daily Bread Designs Blog you get to spend a little Time With ...ME :)  And I'm going to show you a sneak peek of a set being released in February!

This is what I created for today and it's very much a card with a story, so read on if you like :)

There was a time about 5 and 1/2 years ago that my husband and I were on a Staff Retreat at a camp on an Island, called Keats Island off the coast of Vancouver, BC.  It's a beautiful place, you can only get there by boat, and it's right on the Pacific Ocean.  An amazing location with luscious scenery. 

For us it was a very important time, we had only a few months previous, left our jobs at another place.  They were jobs that paid the bills and kept us "secure", but the working environment was very toxic, emotionally and physically.  And we were still very bruised...I've alluded to this time in our lives before if you've been with me for a while. 

But since that time, we had been hired "Interim" at our church to work with Student Ministries:   Junior High, High School and College Age kids, and really sensed this was a renewed calling in our lives, we loved these kids we were working with.  And we were on the retreat with this staff at our church (all wonderful people).  During this retreat we had a talk with our Executive Pastor and Senior Pastor and they offered us the permanent postion to work together as Pastors of Student Ministries at the Church, so in that we were thrilled, but the offer came with a significant cut in pay from where we were at before.  So much so that we just weren't sure we could survive on it.  We just didn't know what we should or could do.  

There was one afternoon after we found this out, where my husband and I sat on the patio of the retreat center, in a big Adirondack chair looking out at the ocean, sitting under the overhang of the building.   We spent a long time there, well over an hour, talking about the job offer, talking about how on earth we could make it financially, still feeling bruised over our last job, trying to seek what God wanted us to do, was this really where we were supposed to be?  Feeling fear for our family, thinking about our 3 kids, feeling such uncertainty.  We just didn't know what to do.  We cried we prayed....and after a while I sensed something above me.  I looked up into the rafters of the building's overhang, and saw a sparrow up there, "sitting with us".  That little bird was there the whole time, and it was still.  And it stayed there the entire time we talked.  And the song just swept over me "His Eye is on the Sparrow.....and I know He watches over me"...and the verse from Matthew came into our heads and we knew that we too could say "So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31).

We really knew in that moment that God had sent that sparrow to remind us of His truth.  We knew that God would care for us, and we knew what decision He was leading us to. It was a profound moment for us.   We accepted the positions for us, and God has abundantly taken care of us these past 5 1/2 years.  I can't imagine my life any other way.  This is where we are supposed to be.  I won't say it's always been easy, but I know for certain that He watches over us.  And we feel very blessed.

So today, if you find yourself at the end of your own rope - I would encourage you to take a step of faith toward a God who loves you and desires to show you how precious you are to Him as He takes care of you. 

So, today I'm giving this card to another young couple, just starting out in their marriage and ministry - not sure where God is leading them, feeling like they have more questions than answers, I hope it will be an encouragement to them as it was to us.

Thanks for stopping by friends!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Our Daily Bread Designs - He Watches Me;  Ink;  Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Razzleberry ;  Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Flourishes Classic Ivory, SEI Juliette Velvet Paper, SU - Lovely Flowers DSP;  Accessories:  Big Shot, Labels 2 and 3 Nestabilities, Scallop Edge Punch, Stitched Satin Ribbon, Basic Grey 1/2 Pearls, Prismacolor Pencils, Blending Stump, Sponge, Martha Stewart Rings Corner and Border Punch, Dimensionals.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

His Eye on the Sparrow