Wednesday, February 19, 2014

God Is Our Valentine All Year Long

As we get ready to celebrate the day when we tell the ones we hold dear that we love them. We may give our wives or girlfriends something shiny, if we have been in the dog house, or flowers, if we waited until the last minute. Even kids may give a Batman or Cinderella valentine with some Sweet Tarts attached to every kid in their class, even the icky boys.

Friday the 14th is a great day to do something else—no, not go see that movie that will make your wife fall in love with you like when you were first dating until you forget to bring home the tool you need to hang some picture. Instead, how about loving God for His providence and sovereignty every day? Need a visual? Let me tell you about the last two weeks.

On Wednesday, I drive middle schoolers from BCCS to the high school so they can stretch their legs at Mrs. V’s gym class. During my up and back runs on 37th street, I saw a lady with two small girls walking on the road since snow was piled up on the sides of the road. I stopped to see if she was alright and she told me that she had run out of gas and was on her way to Sheetz. I told them to jump in. I must have looked safe despite my Angry Birds hat, because they did get inside. As I neared the high school and saw that the Beaver Valley Credit Union sign read –3o, I told the lady I would take them to the school and have Mr. Bryan get some gas for her. As we waited in the lobby of the school, we began that old, familiar banter of “I know you because I’m from Beaver County” 6-degrees of separation talk.

I tell her that I’m from Tiger Pause and she laughs. Earlier that morning she called the Furniture Bank to have us pick-up some scrap metal at her house. Small world, huh? As she went to fill up her car, I waited with the girls until she got back. As a father of a very special princess, I felt great about the day ahead as it was only 9:15 a.m. That was until about 11:00 when I got a call that there was no water at the church except that which was all over the floor. However, Tim Bonomo, who has a huge heart and is always there in case of emergency, was on-hand to save the day for the kids at the after-school program.

Finally, my son Caleb, who has had breathing issues since birth, was scheduled for a cat-scan at Children’s Hospital for a suspected blockage in his left nostril. A peace that passes understanding came upon me and I told my wife that it was going to be alright. And, you know what? It was! We went to Pittsburgh and, what was to be an all-day affair, took less than three hours. We didn’t have to sedate him for the cat-scan and it only took two minutes to complete. The doctor on the third floor had a couple of cancellations and we were able to get the results quickly: whatever was there before was gone! After a few “praise the Lords” and “thank you, Jesuses”, the only people that felt uncomfortable were probably some unbelievers on the medical staff. On the way home, my wife was so happy that she let me stop at Chipotle to eat. Feed my sheep, Matt Nance. No problem, Lord. No problem.

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

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