Staying with the supplies

I was barely awake this morning when I dropped my husband off a short while ago to join his team. For the next 2 weeks He will be leading a group of Bible College students on a missions trip to Mexico, and he will be missed! 

But that was not what I was thinking about when He got out of the car, what I was thinking about was getting back to my warm covers and hoping that mercifully the children would sleep in late this morning- it is Mother's Day after all and 5:30am came brutally early!

Today, the best Mother's Day present from my children (who are still unaware that I deserve utmost love, honor, respect, hand made cards and copious amounts of chocolate on this day) would be that they just sleep! I'll pick my own flowers and buy myself chocolates with maybe even a sappy card to myself for good measure, but today sleep would be- heavenly!

So why on earth, with my little angels still gloriously snoozing am i blogging?    

Because when my husband got out of the car, God reminded me of something, and I want to share that with you!

1 Sam 29-30
Maybe you know the story, maybe you don't but I'll break it down for ya - Jen style!

David had been living among the Philistines for about a year, hiding out from a murderous Saul, when he decided to enlist in their military. He felt the call from "Uncle Sam" or "Uncle Achish" may be more accurate, either way he wanted to go into battle with them against Israel. 

However, for reasons that do seem pretty wise in my opinion, the commanding officers of the Philistine army didn't want David to join. They wondered where His loyalty really was, and in the heat of battle worried that he may decide to try to win the favor of his former king by pulling a little switcharoo and opening a can of crazyness all up on the Philistine army's behinds instead. 

Make no mistake, David was a mean mamma-jammma. It wasn't for nothing that the Israelites sang about David's kung-fu-like mad skills in sweet nursery rhymes like: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten's of thousands."

So although king Achish trusted him, to keep his leaders happy, he sent David and his homeboys packing. When the crew arrive back at Zeklag they find the burning remains of their homes and city but do not find their wives and children. They had been kidnapped by the Amalekites. Obviously David and his men were distraught, but David's men get all mutiny crazy, so David seeks God about the wisdom of pursuing the Amalekites. And God say's basically that David should hand out a whoopin, and that the Amalekites were the one's that David could open up a can on!

Now, just because I think this has to be one of the BEST "dad rescues daughter" films EVER, i have to quote my favorite scene from the movie "Taken", but first let me lay it out for you. 
The daughter had been kidnapped and the father, played by Liam Neeson, gets one of the kidnappers on the phone- the following is something I could imagine David saying to the Amalekites after they took his wives and children...

Father speaking: "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
Kidnapper: [after a long pause] "Good luck."

Yea i know right!!! 
So long story even longer, David and the boys go after the Amalekites but half way there 200 of the men feel too tired to go on, so they stay back and 400 continue on pursuit. They reach the Amalekites, kick butt and take names and rescue all the women and children, returning home with the plunder to the men who had stayed behind. A dispute arises because the returning warriors get all cocky deciding they don't need to share any Amalekite treasure with the dudes who were too tuckered out to go fight. But David ends all that foolishness once and for all by saying this:

1 Sam 30:24 "...The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike. 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this"

Today, as my husband was getting out of the car and I drove home to my dark and quiet apartment, God reminded me of that verse- He basically said to me- Jen, your husband is going off to do wonderful things for the next 2 weeks. He will be sharing the gospel, praying for Mexicans and seeing lives eternally changed! It will be an amazing time of training up young Bible college students who will change the world- but just because you are not going with him doesn't mean your value and reward are not the same as His! You are staying back with the "supplies" but know that your joy, blessing and reward will be the same as if you were standing beside him every moment he is on that mission trip!"

That word from my Heavenly Father blessed me today, on Mothers day and it was honestly a better present than the sleep I had been hoping for anyway, because it reminded me again that God doesn't miss a thing, He sees and He's keeping track. 

But today I think of all of the rest of you mothers. The stay at home moms who will never get the thanks you really deserve, even on this Hallmark holiday! And though the world may see it as you having just stayed with the "supplies", that's not what God thinks, and He's been keeping track, He'll even the score, and share the plunder- if not here then heaven! 

Army wives- really! What can we even say?

Then there are those moms who keep track of the "supplies" AND go into battle!!! Well God must have the mathematics all worked out there, because somehow, some way there's gotta be double somethin coming from somewhere for you!

My mom was certainly one of those DOUBLE DUTY WARRIORS- not out of desire but necessity! So I honor her today, but more so pray that she may see, especially today some of that Amalekite plunder being poured out on her in a double portion for all her sacrifice! I love you mom!

Well I think I hear the "supplies" waking up- so I'm off to face the day, refreshed- I hope you are as well!

Jen





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