I Will Never Leave You nor Forsake You

My Bible is "alive"! When it says "you" - that means "you"! All these things are promised to you. It says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) When I first noticed this, I really started reading it like God wrote me a letter every day.

When we got our 2,000 acres of cotton hailed-out.... the crop that we thought was going to get us out of debt.... we went out to the farm to view the damage. We knew we had "gone broke". I came home crying and said to the Lord, "I've prayed over that crop and thought it was going to get us out of debt.... What is going on?"

I always went to the Word for my answer and I didn't know where to turn in the Bible. I opened my Bible and it opened to Hebrews 13, and my eyes fell on the 5th verse...like it was in darker print, and it said, "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

I was so shocked because it felt like He took me by the shoulder and shook me and said, "Don't be so anxious for money. Be content with what you have. Don't you know I'll never leave you nor forsake you?"

The boys came into the house with their wives and I said, "Boys, cheer up- let me tell you what He just said to me!" When I told them the promise I had just found in the Word, we all joined hands and began to thank the Lord. Jim had just gotten married and thanked the Lord for the privilege of working with his dad and brothers and he thanked Him for his wife. Each of us prayed and praised the Lord for what He had always done for us.

We knew that this was the end of this precious time of farming together as a family. We would have to have a farm sale and sell all the equipment and sell some land to pay our debts. 

The sale was a success, and we had just enough to pay the bank. But we still had a small business loan with the government of $100,000 we had made when we had gotten our cotton accidentally sprayed with poison that drifted over all our cotton a few years earlier. How would we pay that??

We had always sent our cotton to Littlefield to the Levi factory where they made denim cloth.We got more for it there than on the market, but we didn't know we were also given shares in the plant. That year, the denim plant sold, and we didn't know it, but a few days later we received a check for our share......$100,000!!  We were DEBT FREE!!! - What a relief!

Curtis turned 65 that same year, so he put our land into the CRP program (putting the land back into grass, and receiving a check from the government). Plus, he was able to start receiving Social Security. Our needs were met! Can the Lord take care of you?!! Oh, yes, He promised me that He would never leave us nor forsake us! 

Next entry: "A Rainy Fourth" click here

Read "The Word of God in My Life" by clicking here.

World War II - "Waiting"

When the United States entered WWII, Curtis' draft number was one of the first drawn. I wrote this poem to him before he left.

Waiting

Before you leave dear, I want you to know

That I'll be with you wherever you go.

I'll watch by the window and pray every night

That God will be with you as you go to flight.

I'll pray that he'll keep you safe from all harm

And bring you back quickly to stay in my arms.

Go out my dear loved one, be brave in your strife

To help bring the victory for peace, love and life.

We've dreams for the future that must not be broken,

But until you return our love is the token.

There'll be nights of waiting and watching in vain

For a word that you're safe will be a joyous refrain.

So darling remember while you're far away

I'm with you at heart and I pray every day.

Our dreams will unfold as the days pass along.

We'll be happy together and make a new song.

That home that we've planned, and the kids, one or two,

Will all come to pass and we'll never be blue.

We'll have a fireplace with flames burning bright

To help spread our happiness far out in the night.

These are the dreams you'll be fighting for right here.

Good luck, and God bless you, I love you my dear---

Gertrude Short

10/26/43

To read accounts of my early marriage click HERE and HERE.

Link to a follow-up poem, "Still Waiting" - click HERE

My Prayer Life - Part 12 - "Letting Go"

Part 12:

I began to understand more about God--the Heavenly Father and His love for His children as my boys got into high school and college. I was staying on my knees more now and holding them up to the Lord. When I made their beds I would kneel and pray for that special child and the problem that he had that day -- they began to have many as they grew into teenagers and adults. When I ironed their clothes I talked to the Lord about that person whose garment I was ironing. When I washed the dishes I bathed my soul in prayer for whatever problem or joy that was on my heart. I don't know what parents and husbands and wives do who do not have the Lord to go to.

As Danny went to college we were so happy he chose Wayland Baptist College and was given a $1000 scholarship each year for running track.

Signing for WBC scholarship

He had been such a joy to us -- as were all of them -- but he was our first one and naturally everything he did was new to us. He became disturbed about his third year in college as he didn't know what direction he should go in his life. He was discouraged and even thought about quitting. His coach and teachers wrote us about encouraging him. I had taken it to the Lord in the mean time, and I asked Him to guide Danny in his life and show him what He had for him. I also said, "Lord, Danny is going to need a helpmate soon to steady his life and make him complete, and You know who she is. He doesn't, but would you please show him (and me) pretty soon?"

It wasn't very long until we went to Albuquerque to a track meet and he introduced us to this little "Linda Allen," and I remember putting my arm around her and loving her a little bit, and a warm feeling came into my heart. Every girl he had brought home from school until then I had thrown up a wall and found something I didn't like about her. I began to think that I was a possessive mother who would never be able to give up that son. I remember one day deliberately taking one of my aprons, cutting off the apron strings, putting them in an envelope, and mailing them to Danny at college to let him know that I was "cutting the apron strings." When it came time for me to give him to Linda, it was such an easy thing---because the Lord helps our love be a giving love.

Read the next entry in my prayer journey - "God Answers - Big & Small Requests"

My Prayer Life - Part 11 - "Surprise Blessing"

Part 11:

Our Jimmy came along as a sweet surprise to us and has been nothing but a blessing from the Lord all of his 14 years.

James Ross

His salvation experience came as no surprise to us as he had been asking questions. Talking about the Lord at our house was as common a thing as talking about Grandma or anyone else, so it was a natural thing. He was under conviction awhile before the Burton's left our church and Mildred (pastor's wife) prayed for him a lot. She said, "I just feel like Jimmy is going to accept the Lord just any time." But he was pretty young and I didn't want to press him.

Not long after the Burton's moved and Brother Ivaloy Bishop was our interim pastor, Jimmy went forward to accept Christ. Brother Bishop came out that afternoon to talk with him and ask him questions. He answered everything in a very satisfactory way. We praised the Lord that our last child had been born in the kingdom of God and praised His Name for such an abundant life He had given us. How could He love us so much?


Read the next entry in my prayer journey - "Letting Go"

My Prayer Life - Part 5 - "Saying Grace"

Part 5:

By this time we had about lived our bank balance up trying to farm and buy equipment. My husband had taken a job with an Implement store. He was sent to Denver to a week's school to learn the parts department, so we went and stayed with my oldest brother who was a preacher.

My brother, Lawrence and his daughters

This too, we saw later, was the leadership of the Holy Spirit, because each morning my brother's family sat down to breakfast and each of them prayed. We listened as they talked to Jesus as easily as if He was there at the table. My brother could make love to Jesus in a way that it made you love them both. We joined in this time with them each morning "awkwardly." I remember because we had not brought Christ out in the open at our house. When we got home again, we felt ashamed as we sat down at the table that had not been accustomed to prayer. My husband said, (and I was so thrilled it was his decision), "We are going to start offering our thanks at the table." This pleased our little son as much as it did me and he never let us forget. At first we didn't know if we should give thanks for just a snack, and we would sometimes start without bowing, but our boys would remind us. Even our oldest, 3 years old and our second son, big enough to sit in his high chair would close his eyes and jabber something. One of the first words he learned was "Amen."

I began to teach my boys to kneel and pray and they would add their own, "God bless Grandma and Granddaddy...." and many, many more names. One night our oldest stopped in his prayer and asked, "Mama, God bwess Wussel, too?" Russel was an uncle who didn't go to church, and we loved him very much. I said, "Yes, honey, God bless Russel, too!" Russel was saved not many years after that and God has blessed Russel, too!!

Sweet Uncle Russel

Read the next entry in my prayer journey - "Afraid I Would Die"