Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Paths in the Water and Seventeen-Going-On-Eighteen

"For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots
and with his horsemen into the sea,
and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them;
but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea."
(Exodus 15:19)
What an AMAZING display of God's power we see in Exodus 14 and 15! And yet, we come to know this account so well that we begin to read it like a childhood fairytale rather than something that really happened. We read it with the carelessness of, "Oh, the waters of the lake rolling back to make a dry path? That happens every day!" Or we read it with the attitude of, "Sure, that happened in the story, but those sorts of things really don't happen in real life." How faithless we are! Isn't the God we serve today the same God who rolled back the waters of the Red Sea, working miraculous deliverance for His people? If we took the time to think on it, we would be truly awed and amazed. We would have the assurance and peace that comes in knowing that that same God is our God, and He is just as powerful and mighty to save today as He was then. We would have faith that this God can help us through all the trials of life, just as surely as He delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians and led them across the sea on dry land.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On a personal note:
SCARY NEWS!!! I am seventeen today. It is unbelievable to me. For all my life I wanted to be sixteen. I would watch Leisl dance and sing "I am sixteen, going on seventeen", and wish to say the same thing. And now I am seventeen going on eighteen!! Can it be possible? Can't I just stay sixteen for the rest of my life?
But the clock cannot be stopped. And I do, truly, look forward to the following years, as God sees fit to grant, and I do desire with all my heart that this year I would draw so much closer to Him-- that I would learn to use my time wisely, for HIS glory-- that I would give of myself to serve Him and others-- that I would develop traits in my life that will equip me for service and Christlike relationships with everyone I'm around. I have a choice: either I will use this year to please myself and pursue my own ways, or I will allow God to channel my natural desires and personality to bring Him glory and to serve others.

16 comments:

Victoria Nicol said...

Happy Birthday Melanie! Seventeen is not as bad as being eighteen! : ) You just wait and fine out. I'm just teasing you! Hope you have a wonderful and happy day!

Melanie said...

Thank you for the encouragement, Tory! LOL :-)

Ana said...

Melanie~
Happy birthday!! Wahoo!!! :) Seventeen!!

I was going to tell you that it is my hope and desire that you would grow closer to the Lord, that He would give you desires for Him alone and such, but you've already said all that I could wish to say!! I'm so encouraged to see your faith and growth in Christ ... it's very convicting to me to see such faith!

Ana said...

Oh, and P.S.~ Thank you for the verse and the reminder that we need to cherish what we read in the Bible, that we need to take it to heart and not just mindlessly read it over and over! Thank you!

Grace said...

Happy Birthday Melanie! 17 is young! :) Praying you had a wonderful day!

Melanie said...

Thank you all! I am blessed to have friends that encourage me in the ways of the Lord. Yes, Grace, I know, 17 is still young... but in comparison to 16, it is a whole year older. ;-) :-P

Teddy said...

Hey! Whats wrong with 16??? I happen to like it! Ya, I knows whats yous means when you say you'd always been like Leisl, 'cause that's what I'd always been like. :p
Happy Be-lated Birthday!

Melanie said...

Teddy, I do like 16! I mean I did! It was lovely! :-)

Leah said...

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY !!! I'm reading your book and I am loving it!! It is so captivating! I'm on Chapter 6. I stayed up until 2am last night reading it.

Melanie said...

Leah,
Woohoo!!!! I'm glad you are enjoying it. It is one of my absolute favoritest! (perhaps because I've been working on it since I was seven years old!)
I need to post another writing update, as I have been writing away lately-- maybe after we come back from Indiana, during which time I should get a lot more done. :-)
~MEA

Amanda said...

Sorry I'm late--

Happy birthday! Thanks for the encouragement to read the Bible as though it's actually true! Because it is!

Anonymous said...

I hope you had a happy birthday!

Lilly said...

Sorry that I too am late! I've had a bad cold for the last several days and haven’t been on the computer! My, 17 sounds so grownup!

Anonymous said...

Ooohhhh my....ohhh my....ARG!!!

Am I having bad dream or did I really...really truly... MISS YOUR BIRTHDAY?!?!

Oh my...oh my...I am a horrible friend!! =S I was planning on putting up a birthday post for you and everything, and my way-ward mind totally didn't listen!

So...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR MELANIE!

Melanie said...

Toria,
Don't worry about it. ;-) And you are NOT a horrible friend!! Thank you SO much for the sweet card and gift that you sent me. :-)
Love,
Melanie

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday Melanie, slightly late! I'm enjoying "Sweet Sixteen"!