“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
–Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
Valentine’s Day is definitely known for its gift-giving. Card and gift shops sell thousands, if not millions, of mass-produced presents every Valentine season, but some of the greatest gifts of love are not produced in any store.
Five years ago, when my husband and I were dating and soon to be engaged, Tim decided to give me a very special Valentine’s Day gift. One of the patients he visited during his rounds as a hospital chaplain said he was a jeweler. This man gave Tim a black stone heart charm, which was set in a silver frame. All Timothy had to do was buy the chain and get the heart engraved on the back. On Valentine’s Day, I became the happy recipient of this mostly homemade heart necklace, which had the words “With All My Love Tim” engraved on the back.
As you can guess, this necklace is very valuable to us. It’s a tangible sign of our love for each other. Because of this, I try to be careful when I wear it, because I’m afraid of losing it. I have lost it a couple times, but God always managed to bring it back into my hands.
Last Friday morning, I decided to wear my necklace to a nursing home where we were entertaining, but I couldn’t find it in its usual drawer. I knew the necklace had to be somewhere in the house, but where was it?
I told Timothy what had happened, and we decided to pray about it. After that we started looking around the house. After emptying out my purse, checking in my jeans pockets, and even hunting under the bed, we’d had no luck. But just as we were about to give up the search, I felt compelled to try looking in our office. Low and behold, buess what I found under my computer desk? The necklace had apparently fallen out of my pocket, but thanks to our prayer to God and some help from Tim, the necklace had finally been found!
Have you ever lost something important to you, that you knew would seem insignificant to other people? You may have lost some jewelry of your own, a particular picture or photo album, or your child’s art project that means a lot to you. If this has been the case, you’ve probably thought, “Why should I pray to God about this? It’s important to me, but God would probably view it as unimportant or worthless. Why would the Father of the universe help me find one little object?”
Well, I’ve got news for you. God knew all about you and loved you long before you were born. In fact, He declared his everlasting love for you before time had even begun. It was because of this love that God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place on the cross. Since God loves you this much, He is very interested in hearing all of your cares and concerns, and that includes material objects that are valuable to you.
Of course, you may not always find what you’ve been searching for. God may be trying to teach you something through your experience. His lessons may be hard to swallow, so to speak, but the Bible states that God seeks to teach the people whom He loves, and you are definitely one of those people.
Whether you find what you seek or not, God is always there for you, and He loves nothing more than learning what you care about most. If you don’t know Him, I encourage you to learn more about Him and His promises in the Bible, and then prayerfully ask Him to forgive your sins and enter your life.
I hope that as Valentine’s Day approaches, you’ll begin communicating more with our Lord of love. God has said that those who seek Him will surely find Him, and He is always glad to help you find what is important to you.
Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.hcmachaplains.org and click on the Donate Now link. You can also send donations by mail to HCMA (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association). Our ID number is 560. The address is 101 S Kraemer BLVD, Suite 123A, Placentia, CA 92870. Finally, you’re always welcome to join our Monday night Bible study or Tuesday night prayer meeting. Both are conducted by conference call, and they take place at 5:30 PM Arizona time. Our conference number is 712-775-7031, and our ID is 607518748. We hope to talk with you soon!
If you have questions, comments or prayer requests for Timothy or Stephanie Burdick, please call 507-369-6861.