--"INDESTRUCTIBLE LOVE" ~~

--"Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.
--[Song of Songs 8:7]

--Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God."
"The one who does not love does not know God, for.....
----"G-D IS LOVE"
--(1 John 4:7-8]--

When we first saw the stream in our backyard, it was just a thin vein of water trickling through a bed of rocks in the heat of the summer. Heavy wooden planks served as a bridge we could easily cross. Months later, torrents of rain pounded our area for several days in a row. Our tame little creek swelled into a quick-moving river four-feet deep and ten-feet wide! The force of this water heaved the bridgeboards up and deposited them several feet away.

Rushing water has the potential to overwhelm almost anything that stands in its path. Yet there’s something that’s indestructible in the face of a flood or other forces that might threaten to destroy it—love. “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (Song of Songs 8:7). Love’s persistent strength and intensity is often present in romantic relationships, but it’s only fully expressed in the love God has for people through His Son, Jesus Christ.

When the things we consider to be sturdy and dependable are swept away, our disappointment can open the door to a new understanding of God’s love for us. His affection is higher and deeper and stronger and longer lasting than anything on earth. Whatever we face, we face with Him beside us—holding us up, helping us along, and reminding us that we’re loved.

--ODB/JBS

--"Heavenly Father, thank You for comforting me with Your love during times of rejection or loss. Help me to believe I can depend on You to meet every need in my soul. Lord Jesus, thank You for granting me peace to live for You without fear of being snatched from Your eternal presence. In Christ Alone I pray. Amen~ "

---"You Are My Hiding Place and My Shield"

--As I stood in rural Uganda watching a rig I had contracted to drill a well for several hundred impoverished villagers, an elderly man approached me. He grasped my hands and in broken English said, "If you could open my heart and view inside, you would see happiness on top of happiness on top of happiness for this water God has provided."

Those words gave me insight into the overflow of this dear man's heart= gratitude, humility, meekness, and reverence for the Lord were evident. "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of," Jesus said. "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart" (Luke 6:45).

If our hearts are full of bitterness or hatred, broken relationships and isolation will follow. If our hearts are full of love, compassion, and gratitude, we'll tend to have healthy, edifying relationships.

--"You are my hiding place and my shield:
I wait for Your word." --(Psalm 119:114)--
---ODB/RB
--"My Hope Is In You" / Aaron Shust / <https://youtu.be/K_vhY72ITRo>
~~~~~~~~~~

--A GOOD SAMARITAN~~

--[The lawyer] answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and
your neighbor as yourself." --(Luke 10:27 / NRSV)

--WHEN I was a child I enjoyed spending time in my father's tailor shop, listening to him tell stories from his childhood while he worked. My father was happy while growing up in Armenia until war broke out in 1915. He was forced to flee his home; he stayed on the move--walking by day, hiding among the trees by night.

One day while he was walking down a road, he saw a group of boys heading his way, intent on harming him because he was Armenian and Christian. My father scrambled into a ditch, raised his arms and cried, "Dear God, save me!" In desperation, he waved down a passing car. The driver stopped, told him to get into the car and asked, "Where are you going?" My father stammered, "Anywhere."

The man took him to an Inn and gave him fresh clothes. That night my father bathed, ate a good meal, and slept at the Inn. The following day my father wanted to thank the man, but he was gone. He had paid for the night's stay and left some money for my father. Who was this man? My father never found out.

The stranger lived out the parable of the Good Samaritan, caring for my father even though he was a stranger. We can all learn from the kindness this man showed and remember that we have the ability to show love and mercy to others as well.~~ [see Luke 10:30-37]

"Merciful God, thank You for watching over us in unexpected ways and through the people you send into our lives. Help us to remember to reach out to others as they too need Your touch, and guiding hand. In Jesus Name~ Amen" ~~

--UPPER ROOM~ ---"King Of My Heart" / Sarah and John McMillian <https://youtu.be/OFL6w8RxRcs>
~~~~~~~~~~~~

---MYSTERIOUS WAYS ~~

--MORE THAN COINCIDENCE ~~

---I FOUND the box on a shelf in the basement, covered in a thick layer of dust. My heart leaped when I realized what it was. Danny's puzzle! It had been almost 20 years since I'd seen it last.

I remembered when our son Danny showed up, the box tucked under his arm. My husband, Charles, was recovering from a heart attack. He'd spent 10 days in intensive care before being sent home, with strict instructions to take it easy.

Danny stopped by the house every day after work to lend a hand. He also brought things to keep Charles occupied, The jigsaw puzzle was one of them. The box showed a picture of the finished puzzle: a quaint New England town with a cobblestone street and a Church. There were a thousand pieces. "That should keep you busy," Danny said with a smile. "I love that little church."
Slowly but surely, Charles recovered. The puzzle remained unopened and eventually found its way to the basement. It was probably here, gathering dust, the night of the accident.

There was a drunk driver, a head-on collision. Danny and his 19-year-old son were killed. Our family was shattered. Years later the pain was still there.

I had come down to the basement to find something to occupy myself. It was cold, blustery day, the perfect time to finally put together Danny's puzzle. I brought it upstairs and took over the dining room table, spreading out all the pieces. Then I got to work.

Over the next few days, the image on the box began to take shape. Two weeks after starting the puzzle, the end was in sight. I stayed up late into the evening, convinced I could finish it before bed. Soon the pieces were in place, all except one. It was missing. Charles and I looked all over for it, tearing the room apart. It had to be somewhere!

"Let's look again in the morning," said Charles. "It's getting late."

The next morning, I headed back to the puzzle. Exactly as I'd left it. Nearly complete.

But there was something else.

I called Charles over. "It can't be," he said.
Just above the empty spot was the missing piece. The Church door!

I studied the piece for a moment before putting it where it belonged. At long last, Danny's puzzle was complete. ~~
--GUIDEPOSTS~/ JK
[Jesus said, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ~[John 10:9]."
---"JESUS I NEED YOU" / HILLSONG WORSHIP / <https://youtu.be/qz_oad9XZ0o>
~~~~~~~~~~~

----SOMEONE CARES ~~

--Pass It On~~

--HAPPY JAR ~~

~~I was an emotional wreck during my pregnancy after two previous miscarriages. By February, I was around six months long. I developed sciatica pains, and everything I did hurt. I missed working out. My mood plummeted.

My husband, Javier and I don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day. So it was a big surprise when he presented me with a jar filled with pink slips of paper. "This is your happy jar," he said. He had written a compliment or hopeful message on each piece of paper: "You will be an amazing mother," "You make me a better person," "You are absolutely gorgeous." Javier instructed me to read a note whenever I felt down.

Those notes helped me so much. How blessed I am to have such a loving husband, a great example for our healthy baby boy, Lorenzo. ~~

--Guideposts/NR~~--"When God Made You" / Newsong (feat.Natalie Grant) <https://youtu.be/Z2OLM9atFo0>
~~~~~~~~~~~