BRANDEN'S CALLING

Today is Branden's first day of working at Merlin Airport.

At fourteen, Branden came home from being at a Bible camp for a week with his youth group. He was excited beyond measure. He told my husband and I he felt God was calling to be a pilot. I must admit I was at first, alittle worried. But when I began to think back in Branden's life the things he was most interested in. I began to see how this calling seemed to mimic Branden's interests and passions. He was always interested in other's lives, enjoyed sharing Jesus with strangers and never had a problem talking to adults, even when he was only five years old. He loved missions and at very young ages he was able to leave Mom and Dad without any problems. When he was two years old, I caught his arm as he was attempting to run across the street to get his skateboard that flew out between his legs and landed in the middle of the street. I told him he could get hit by a car and die. He replied, "Then I would go home to be with Jesus in heaven, Mommy". All I could do was hold him and thank God for this little boy with a heart so close to Jesus. As he got older, he became a bit more daring in the way he played. We had a trampoline, and one day I looked out my kitchen window to see the trampoline mysteriously moving toward the middle of our house across the lawn. I saw no one pushing it, or pulling it. I put the dishes down I was washing, and went to the door to see this small boy yanking on the legs of the trampoline, inching it near the side of the house and almost directly under the overhand on our roof. Not understanding why he has carefully placed the trampoline in this spot, I went back in but watched eagerly out the window. The next thing I knew, I saw this little body free falling from nowhere. It was like Branden had catapulted himself off the highest point of our roof above the attic and was in a full front flip as he sped past my window. I didn't have time to even get outside before I saw this same body happily bouncing up high above my window, only to come falling down and bouncing up again a few more times. I briskly went outside and let him know this was not going to happen again. Well, it didn't off the house onto the trampoline, but he is twenty years old now, and I marvel at the days I look up on the sky with a smile on my face, peace in my heart usually, and joy in my soul knowing he is where he is suppose to be. He is only ten hours away from getting his private license, and then onto bigger and better things.

I hope he had a great day at the airport. I hope he was reminded of the calling Jesus put on his heart so many years ago. But most of all, I hope and pray he is at peace knowing he is right where God wants him to be.

Revelation at Last!

This afternoon, I was driving in town while listening to a CD of a friend of mine. She had spoke at a conference in Washington about bitter root judgments and had the conference recorded. Since I am editing her book on bitter root judgments, she thought if I listened to her CD I would thoroughly understand about the topic at hand. As I was going through the prayers and asking the Lord to show me where some of my bitter root judgments had been, He reminded me of my prayer for my youngest son, Branden. I had begged God to show me why, in times past, was I not aggressive in protecting Branden and coming to his aid? I have many deep rooted regrets for not being there as I should have for him but I could not understand why, when I love him with my life, did I often come to his rescue as I should have. God brought me back some thirty years earlier when my Mother and Father both had failed to protect me from very serious conditions. I was mad at God and my parents, and felt it was so unfair and could not understand why my Mother would deny the sexual abuse that I had endured and why my Father chose to leave my Mother, sister and I and remain distant in our lives. I was angry with God for giving me parents that would not do whatever it took to make their marriage work. I was frustrated to no end at my parents for not protecting me and standing up for me. I felt so betrayed by God, wondering where was he was in all of this. I immediately confessed my bitter root judgments towards them, asked God to forgive me for having these bitter root judgments, though they may have been true and valid. Then I cut, severed and broke the reaping of these brj's (bitter root judgments), and because what is bound on earth is bound in heaven, I loosed God in heaven to deal with them and the situations of the reaping in my son that came from my judging. I asked God for a divine reversal and thanked Him for it. I felt God's peace swarm over me and knew heaven had heard. I spoke protection where there was none, healing where there had been a breech, and knew God begin working to reverse things at that very moment.

I challenge you today. Take a look in the past at where you might have done the same as me. You can rewrite your future, and it can begin today! Phil. 4:13