The Amish Voice 8
Expect Opposition cont. from previous page
As I mentioned earlier, our family has expe-
rienced obstacles and opposition several
times and especially in the last few years. It
really didn‟t begin, interestingly enough,
until we made the decision to be obedient no
matter what the cost.
My husband has had to do quite a bit of trav-
elling for business in the last year or so. I do
not enjoy being alone, especially with the
issues that can come up with four children,
some with special needs. I would much ra-
ther have my husband at home all the time. I
do not feel I am one of those strong women,
or “super moms,” who seem to gracefully
and energetically run the household no mat-
ter what. I have often (to my shame) begged
my husband to “please stay home.” If he felt
he was supposed to travel at that time, he had
to be strong and tell me he understands. I
know he wishes he could stay, but he needs
to do what he feels is right. In this way, we
wives can make it hard for our husbands to
follow God‟s leading and hinder blessings
that could otherwise come to us.
It is difficult when my husband is gone.
Many times as soon as my husband is gone,
one of the children gets sick, usually with a
flu bug that will pass on to the others.
It is not easy, as you moms well know, to
have a bunch of fevered, vomiting children,
especially without your husband there for
encouragement and moral support. Satan
knew exactly what would be the most frus-
trating for me. (Trust me, my friends, vomit-
ing children is exactly that!) Often I am ex-
hausted upon his return and look forward to
Daddy being home to be strong, and to re-
lieve my load a little. However, often my
husband is also very exhausted when he re-
turns. Needless to say, it can be very frustrat-
ing for both of us! When you are so very
tired, it can be easy to look at each other and
think, “And now what reason would you
have to be tired?” Sometimes we get our
eyes off what God is trying to do in the grand
scheme of things and look at each other as
arch-enemies! But remember, Satan will op-
pose in any way he can, especially getting
our focus on each other, so we forget that
“...we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”
This passage in Ezra was like God‟s personal
Word to me this morning and was very en-
couraging. Basically the long and the short of
it was, “Lynn, don‟t be surprised that you
have opposition and challenges! Expect
them! If you learn to expect opposition, you
won‟t be taken off guard and stopped by it.
Instead, you can trust God to overcome the
obstacles.”
We continually need to remind ourselves that
these seasons of trial will not last forever. It
sure seems like they do. These times can be
exhausting. Sometimes I long for nights of
uninterrupted sleep and for lots of energy.
Neither of these is likely to happen very soon
since I have a toddler who is teething very
late at night, and I suffer from extreme fa-
tigue when I‟m pregnant.
I have done my share of questioning God‟s
wisdom (not a good idea, by the way) in all
these things, but He is in control, and I am
slowly learning that fighting God only wears
me out and lengthens the whole process.
So I go onward today, knowing that the way
will not always be easy. (In fact, if you don‟t
face opposition you may do well to examine
if you are on the right track.) If I expect that I
will have obstacles, I can, with God‟s help,
overcome them and experience the blessings
God wants to send my way.
—Lynn Miller, Kentucky
To Kill a Lion
Destroying the Power of
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My Daddy
—by Jonathan Helmuth
My Daddy
I remember when in days gone by
When in childhood tenderly
A little boy in his daddy‟s lap
Would hear the old story
The story of old Abraham
And Peter, James and John
But most of all I remember when,
You would hold your little son.
I remember when my daddy dear
Would take my little hand
You‟d guide my little footsteps
And help me understand
Life is short and death is sure
Don‟t build upon the sand
But most of all I remember when
You‟d hold my little hand
This little boy loved being with
His daddy as he talked
Of Jesus and the lame man
Who got up and he walked
You talked about a blind man
Whom Jesus healed one day
But most of all I remember when
We knelt, and you would pray
Now years have come and years have
gone
And I have children too
And I do pray and talk with them
About Jesus, just like you
I hold them and I take them
By their little hand
And lead them to their Daddy
Who reigns in glory land
Someday up there on streets of gold
My Daddy I will see
I‟ll run into his warm embrace
Of love so tenderly
I‟ll listen to his beating heart
And gaze upon his face
Cause Daddy told me about Him
And his amazing grace
By Jonathan Helmuth (Father’s Day 2007)
4199 Old Rt. 14
Dundee, NY 14837
(607) 351-1593