July 15, 2024

PROVIDENCE
“The providence of God is His purposeful sovereignty by which He will be completely successful in the achievement of His ultimate goal for the universe. God’s providence carries His plans into action, guides all things toward His ultimate goal, and leads to the final consummation.” – John Piper

Saturday evening I was sitting alone in a waiting room of an animal hospital as I wondered how my sweet pup was doing who had been having some health issues. I can easily get anxious wondering what is going on so I brought in my IPad so I could start blogging since it’s been awhile but instead, I got a text from a friend that someone tried to shoot our 45th President, Donald Trump, during a rally in Pennsylvania so I watched what had been captured minutes prior. I was shocked at what I saw and could not imagine being there as it was hard enough to see it online. It must’ve been so surreal in person.

I got home with my pup, who by the way is doing so much better after coming home and sleeping over 12 hours straight and eating new food with some special probiotics. I watched the news for hours, watching the scene over and over, as new updates were coming in. I could not believe how close that bullet came to his brain and the only reason he didn’t get hit there is because he turned his head at just the right moment. I was wondering how a person could not be seen on top of a roof by anyone and later it came out that even bystanders questioned it to the point of telling the police and since then someone showed a video of people pointing out the person on the roof with a gun. I questioned why all nearby roofs didn’t have snipers on them since the range was so close to the stage.

I imagined the changed lives of so many people involved:
The man who was killed immediately; he went with his family to enjoy the day together and they left without a husband and father. I cannot even fathom and thought that the severity of it all didn’t probably even hit them that night because of shock.
The two men critically injured; not being able to get yourself from there but trusting the people around you to care for you and get you out of there must’ve felt so vulnerable.
The bystanders, including children, who all witnessed people being shot at and all the chaos that ensued; they will be needing to work through a lot of trauma.
And then there’s Donald Trump; I hoped if he would recognize this as a miracle that he is still alive and draw closer to God through it.

Since this attempted assassin, I thought, once again, about how we never know when our last breath will be and the importance of making the most of every opportunity. Because Trump was our president, he and his family were in my prayers moreso those first four years and then again this past year. My specific prayers are for us to have leaders who love the Lord with al their heart, soul, mind, and strength, not just saying what sounds good but to live it. I pray often for people I love and myself for God to do “whatever it takes” for us all to draw closer to Him and to each other. I haven’t prayed this particular prayer for leaders of our country, but I am realizing this is a good prayer to pray for all those that have influence in our life and obviously that would be leaders including the President of the United States.

When I went to bed Saturday evening, I thought about all the yuck the past eight years that Donald Trump and his family have gone through. I cannot imagine they are okay but they all seem super resilient. I have thought often of Melania this past few months, not imagining the pain she must go through internally as she sees her husband being racked across the coals over anything and everything. I am thankful she’s been able to keep herself out of the cameras and focus on her son. I wondered, like many, if they would make it through all the hard. I immediately started praying that this most recent horrific experience would draw both Donald and Melania closer to God and to each other like never before.

I found it refreshing that the Democratic Party decided to remove all negative ads against Trump. I also found it interesting that Trump decided to rip up 20 pages of his speech for the convention and have it rewritten to focus more on unity. Might what happened over the weekend cause candidates to focus more on talking about what their plans and goals are to do with our nation without tearing down the other party? It IS possible! Time will tell.

Donald Trump never needed to be President and could’ve kept living his life the way he was and probably never knew he would be, in my opinion, the most harassed president ever. Going for round two, you can definitely tell he loves his country because he doesn’t run away at all the garbage he and his family have been put through. It is amazing the support he has of his family to keep going. And speaking of round two, he continues to get up after each “witch-hunt” low blow, where he could’ve easily just got up, brushed himself off, and walked away. Many ask why he continues to push back, but it’s obvious he wants to fight for the freedom of this country. So it should not surprise us that he got up as he did after being shot. I told my husband he looked like a fighter after almost getting his head blown up. As my kiddos would say, “it was epic!” He displayed such courage! What an example of what a leader should be! He did want his shoes first (actually comical amongst all the crazy) but then wanted to pause to let the American people KNOW that he would continue to fight for this country. So what are YOU fighting for in this world? What is most important to you to continually get knocked down that you will push back even more for?

I don’t imagine The Trumps were or are a perfect family. I am guessing they have had relationship problems and some may sweep it under the rug while others want to work through them…so many different personalities. The first time Trump ran for President and was debating, we all saw how much he talked, interrupted, and wanted to have the last word. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to watch though the same thing could be said for most all the other candidates as well. The thing I loved is that you would never be guessing what he was thinking because he would say it, maybe not so eloquently, but you would know what was on his mind. This is a respectful trait to have. Over the years of all the “witch-hunting”, he has learned to not let what people say rile him up anymore and even showed at this first debate that if Biden was going to say something about him being a convicted felon or anything else about his reputation, that he just shrugged it off, without comment, and body language that spoke “you can feel or think the way you want and it is not going to bother me”. YES!! AMEN! Just because someone thinks or feels a certain way doesn’t make it true, and it doesn’t need to cause a reaction. May we all learn this good lesson, and remember, sometimes being still and silent is the best thing to do because God’s got your back.

“Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,” Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭30‬ ‭LSB‬‬

I am so over people in this country thinking that because you have a different opinion than them, that you must automatically be their enemy. WHY?!?! I have had many differing opinions of people or issues and this doesn’t make me hateful or racist or having some sort of phobia. My opinion, even if different than yours, simple makes me a person with my own mind, my own free will, with my own set of morals of how I live (for me personally this comes from the Word of God that is never-changing; It is the same yesterday, today, and forever). A friend of mine said she lost friends in the last few years that voted differently than her. People lost relationships over to vaccinate or not. None of this should divide a country let alone relationships! This is so sad! This is still America, the Land of the Free. Why do you think people want to live here?!? They want to be able to make their own decisions, not have others tell them what to do or how to think!

Can you imagine your entire life being shown on a huge screen for every single person to view? Are there things you would not want the whole world knowing? If you are a changed person, would you want these people focusing and judging you on your past or your present? Would the people who have hated on Trump, trying to smear his name for years now, be willing to have all their dirty laundry aired for all to see? What I do know is that Trump was an amazing President those first four years. As some may say, I think of him at times when I am at the store or at the gas station, “If Trump were president, the prices wouldn’t be like this!” He ran the country well! Did he make poor choices before all that in his personal life? I am sure he did, as did I, as did you! Will he still make poor choices? I am sure he will, as will I, as will you! Why? Because we are human! What I do know is that as we grow, we learn, we change, knowing we aren’t the person we yet want to be but thankful we are not the person we once were. What I do know is that this life is a fight….a battle between good and evil, not flesh and blood but the spiritual world that is raging on around us….and to remember to arm myself daily with the Word of God.

Trump has shown to lead the country well, and I believe he is trustworthy to do it again. I believe down deep in my soul that God kept Trump alive to make a difference! I do believe that is why anyone is given a second chance. I truly believe that had Trump not move his head when he did, they would be planning his funeral. Supposedly, he had changed, at that moment, what he was going to say. Maybe he was thinking about it and since it wasn’t as planned, he turned his head as he was thinking what he was saying. I don’t know the details or what went on in his mind during this time, but I do know my God is Sovereign and no matter how hard we may try, we do not have the power to change His perfect plan in His perfect time. God saved Trump for a good purpose for such a time as this! God also has YOU here for a purpose as well for such a time as this! PROVIDENCE!

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not reached royalty for such a time as this?”” Esther‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭LSB‬‬

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭LSB‬‬

I do believe through the tragedy this past weekend people have been reminded that no matter what happens, God is still on the throne, in control, and is still in the business of doing miracles. I believe that God is and will continue to use it in many lives. I also believe this has changed the trajectory of many things going forward. I believe Trump is more humbled; who wouldn’t be after that near death experience?! People who might’ve been on the fence of who to vote for may now realize this man was kept alive, by God, for a reason! All of us may now think twice about how life can change in an instant and how we use our words. Are we being helpful or hurtful? Encouraging or slandering?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if in the next debate we could see unity between the two sides? I feel like our world sees each other as enemies when we don’t agree on everything, and that needs to stop. Why not stop now? What would happen if we switched our negative talk about people to be positive talk? How could we change our world, one word, one decision at a time so we can make a difference together?! I always would tell my children when they were little, in all they do and say, to “make a difference”. It is my prayer, since I said it so much, that it sticks with them forever and ever in every decision they make, every word they speak, in all they do, so they can be world changers! I am praying this for all the people of our country, too!

Trust, Tragedy, Triumph…..God will use it all!

Blessings,
Jennifer