The Steps of a Good Person are Ordered by the Lord

 

The Steps of a Good Person are Ordered by the Lord

 

Returning from Florida at 34000 feet above the earth

 I was looking out the window at the magnificent clouds

I felt a peace so great I did not want to think

I did not want the things I had to do or the problems of life

To interrupt this special peace

It was not the clouds that were on my mind

It was the steps from the journey Sandy and I had just been on

Caring for my niece’s mother with dementia 

It was in that time of peace I realized

 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”

I realized that every step I take, God is there

As I walked off the plane

 I saw one foot after the other step on the exit ramp

Something you never have on your mine as you have just come home after a trip

  The thousands of steps you never think of, God is there at every one of them

I found myself saying a prayer

Lord, help me to see the guidance You give to each step of my life

   Help me to know it is not just the big events in life

Where You show up, but You are in every step

Thank you for every step we took to Florida and back

And the special peace You give

 

 

The Steps of a Good Person are Ordered by the Lord

 

Returning from Florida at 34000 feet above the earth…

 

 I was looking out the window at the magnificent clouds.

 

I felt a peace so great I did not want to think.

 

I did not want the things I had to do

or the problems of life

to interrupt this special peace.

 

It was not the clouds that were on my mind…

 

 It was the steps from the journey

Sandy and I had just been on.

 

We were asked, by my niece,

if we would come care for her mother who has dementia

while the family got away on a much-needed vacation.

 

Sandy likes the aisle seat

and I like the window, when we fly.

 

On our 2-hour flight to Florida,

 Sandy got her aisle seat and I the middle

with a wonderful man next to me.

 

 We enjoyed conversation the whole flight.

 

When we arrived…

 

 We met my brother’s girlfriend for the first time.

 

We got to hug her and see this wonderful lady

who has filled my brother’s life

with overwhelming joy and love

after the death of his wife 5 years ago.

 

We continued to get to know her

and love her over the week.

 

The next day we got to drive down

and see Sandy’s 92 year old mother.

 

 It is a treasure each time we get to see her

as most don’t have parents who live that long.

 

When it became time for Sandy and I

to relieve Mike and Stacy and the boys to their cruise…

 

 We were wondering how it would be to care for this woman…

 

 Who loved us and we loved her

 but she could not put a sentence together

or dress herself or even eat without help.

 

On top of that,

 we had two dogs and a cat to care for.

 

Our hearts were so touched

with compassion for Stacy’s mom

and for Stacy who must keep watch

for her mother every day.

 

Stacy is an amazing woman

who has a gift for decorating.

 

Stacy has placed in every room

on walls and shelves encouraging words

of Faith, Family and Love.

 

Every day with every movement

we made in the house…

 

 We found ourselves reading encouraging words.

 

Caring for Kathy, Stacy’s mom,

our concerns and worries were covered up with joy

as we worked to make the time with Kathy very special

even though we knew they would not be memorable

as her mind would soon forget.

 

But somehow in Kathy’s mine she did not forget.

 

Somehow on the last day…

 

 Kathy struggled to put together a sentence

and even though she could not remember

 my name, she said to Sandy…

 

 “That man (pointing to the other room where I was)

and you (Sandy), I really like both of you”.

 

Kathy has always been a sweet lady

and her appreciation of us, no matter how

limited she was to show it, meant the world to us.

 

When we checked in on line for our return flight home,

I saw I had a window seat and Sandy had the middle.

 

I had hoped someone would sit next to Sandy

that would make her flight enjoyable

while I enjoyed the window seat.

 

God is so good…

 

 Sandy got the aisle on the way to Florida

and I got the window on the way back.

  

It did not take a minute

when we got to our plane seats

that we discovered the lady next to Sandy

was a Christian with a powerful story

and love for the Lord.

Carrie told us…

 

 She and her husband got Covid in May of 2021.

 

 She had to be hospitalized,

incubated and put into a coma.

 

She has strong memory of the whole journey.

 

She knew she was going to die

but wanted to fulfill her calling

as a wife, mother and grandmother.

 

She cried out to God

and in the pitch darkness of the induced coma

the doctors said she would not live.

 

But God came to her.

 

 He was on a stone seat brightly illuminated.

 

As she described the vision it was full of detail,

although she could not see the Lord’s face,

she saw she was in the arms of God.  

 

Later after she came out of the coma,

she found out her husband

at the exact moment she was having the vision

also had a vision.

 

 He saw what she saw,

 but he saw the Lord holding his wife

from the back side.

 

 This Methodist woman was so full Christ.

 

As the plane took off…

 

 I could not hear the conversation Sandy was having with this woman

but at one point, Carrie laid her hands on Sandy and prayed for her.

 

My heart was so filled with joy to see

how God had put Sandy and this woman together

so that they could be a blessing to each other.

 

As the joy filled my heart…

 

I looked out the window with an incredible peace.

 

It was in that time of peace I realized…

 

 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”

 

I realized that every step I take God is there.

 

As I walked off the plane…

 

 I saw one foot after the other

step on the exit ramp.

 

This is something you never have on your mine

as you have just come home after a trip.

 

  The thousands of steps you never think of,

God is there at every one of them.

 

I found myself saying a prayer…

 

Lord, help me to see the guidance

You give to each step of my life.

 

   Help me to know it is not just the big events in life

 where You show up, but You are in every step.

 

Thank you for every step we took to Florida and back…

 

And the special peace You give.

 

A-Men

 

Scripture Reading

 

Psalms 37:23 NKJV

 

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

   

 

Thank you, Lord, for memories

 

Left to right Kathy, Sandy, Susan (my brother’s girlfriend),

Kenny (Susan’s son), Mike (my brother) and me

Dinner with Sandy’s 92 year old mother

 

 

 

 

 

  

Sandy caring for Kathy and the two dogs

Kathy shopping at the Red Barn 

 

 

 

Awesome clouds from Mike and Stacy’s backyard