It’s been quite a week.

Suffice to say “the thief” didn’t stop after Monday
(see previous blog: http://bit.ly/22nPe5V)
and his attacks moved
from discouragement,
to hopelessness,
to “Maybe I should just give all this up and work at Starbucks” within a matter of days.
starbucks (Have you ever been there?)
But when I found out that God used my sermon (http://bit.ly/1Vdk4vY) to change a couple people’s trajectory toward infidelity– saving them from a decision that could have hijacked their life, I understood what got the thief so raving mad.

Truth is the thief’s worse enemy.
And when someone responds to that truth it can make things even worse.

But here’s the good news.

In the midst of that thief trying to get us to lose our way, you may notice- if you allow yourself to see- that God shows you little signs that He is with you in your battle.
They are like flowers that push through concrete blocks and appear on your path.
flower thru concrete
Small signs of grace in the journey.

I had one this week in my (almost) 13 year old stepson.
He’s in that pre-teen stage where I am a little bit of a sidebar… loved, but temporarily cast aside.
Dad is the deal.
I am the meal maker, ride giver and cook.
(You moms of preteen boys know how it goes.)
But low and behold, in the middle of a weekday afternoon car ride, he had his earphones plugged in, his music playing, his video game going, and he reached over and planted a kiss right on my arm.
I love you” he said quickly, so he wouldn’t even hear it himself.
And on we went through homework and sports and music and suddenly
I heard it.
Like when you walk past that flower, and a few blocks down the road you stop.
And at that moment you realize you are not abandoned.
Not forgotten.
Not unloved.
And that Someone bigger than that thief is fighting for your faith.
With flowers through cracks.
And kisses from preteens.
And a host of other small things
that you discover in their timing
are really not small at all.

Which may have to do
with the size of the God behind them.