Sifted Wheat

I have fallen in love with a verse. And I am claiming it as my own today & perhaps for many more days.

"Simon, Simon,

Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for you,

Simon,

that your faith may not fail."

I must confess, I am feeling a bit like sifted wheat lately. You know the old expression, "When it rains, it pours." Well, it's flooding here. If you've read the earlier post, you know that Peyton is having some medical problems. We are scheduled to have a CT scan done tomorrow morning. We are also in the middle of home repairs that need to be done so that we can put our house on the market within the next week or so. Well, here are just a few (there are so many more) curveballs that have been thrown our way.

Saturday was set aside for laying carpet & putting furniture into storage. We had purchased a 12 x 18 piece of carpeting. When Jason unrolled it on Saturday morning, the carpet only measured 12 x 15 . . . not enough to cover the room. We had to return the carpet to Ollie's (where all sales are not so final), pick out a new carpet at the Ollie's in Pottstown, pick that one up, & take it home to install it.

Yesterday was a difficult, yet encouraging day. Lots of friends prayed over Peyton & hugged & cried with us. When I came home from grocery shopping in the evening, I soon realized that the box of diapers that I bought for Peyton were still under my shopping cart back at the store. And once I stepped in the house, I saw that the dog had peed on the brand new carpet!!!!!!

Jason & I have been assured that this is normal. Our pastor looks back with a smirk on the months before he entered seminary as some of the hardest, yet more rewarding months he can remember. He brought this verse to our congregation's attention on Maundy Thursday. What most captivated me was the power in the 3rd, 4th, & 5th word of this verse: Satan has asked. I can rest assured that Satan can do nothing that the Lord does not allow.

I have re~discovered something else amazing about the battle between God & Satan ~~ Satan is always trying to have the last word & God never lets him. Even with the snags that we've been hitting, God just keeps smiling at us! For example, Ollie's is going out of business & all sales are final, but when Jason explained the situation, they were willing to give us our money back. Not only that, but when I went to get the 2nd carpet, they gave me 10% off because of our trouble. And when I called the manager at Walmart about the diapers I had left on my cart, he told me to bring in the receipt & they would give me a new box!!!

And here's the kicker to all of this ~ as I was sitting here typing up this post, Jason called. He had just gotten off the phone with the Dean of Admissions at Evangelical School of Theology. HE'S IN!!!!!! With no extra restrictions or requirements!!!!!! And they have a townhouse for us!!!!!!!!!

Satan has asked . . . . BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!!!!!!!