A Turn of the Page

"Remember when life was simple? We were so happy. We had nothing but each other, but we were so happy. Life was simple. Now we are about to go back to nothing but life is miserable and complicated." Ryan softly groaned with a lump in his throat to his wife, Michelle.

As they sit together at their dining room table looking out the back window into the cold, snowy backyard. "It's going to be okay, Ryan." Michelle says as she reaches to hold her sorrowful husband's cold hand. "Another job opportunity will open up. It's just a matter of time before one of those employers looks at your resumé and gives you an even better job offer than what you had before!" Michelle says with a shaky voice, doing her very best to put on a smile and be a comforting voice for her husband. "And of all times this could have happened! I can't believe it happened the same day my mother dies!" Ryan shouts in frustration and disbelief. "Why would God let this happen? Mom would always tell me that God knows best. How could this possibly be 'best'?"

"Honey, we may never know why, but God has His reasons. I know this is hard, but don't doubt God now; if nothing else, this is the most important time to trust God and be close to Him." Michelle softly and tenderly said to Ryan.

*Little cries from Michelle and Ryan's newborn baby girl begin to echo through the hall into the dining room.*

"I'll go check on her" Michelle said, " I will go ahead and pack too; we will need to leave early in the morning to make the drive to your mom's." *Ryan continued to look out the back window with a complexion as cold as the weather outside that gray January day.*

*Five days later* The funeral has come to an end; Ryan and his family have said their final goodbyes to his dear mother. After the service, Ryan's old pastor, Preacher Brown came to him with something to give him. "Ryan, again, I am very sorry for your loss. I am just praising God for Heaven right now, and that one day, we will all see your dear mother again" Preacher Brown said with a broken smile and a tear building up in the corner of his eye." "I hope you are right, preacher" Ryan said with a sigh. "Oh, Ryan! It is not a matter if I am right or not. In I Thessalonians 4, the Bible says we will see her again when the Lord returns, 'and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' That is how we can know we know, Ryan!" said the old preacher.

"I haven't really been paying much attention to what the Bible says as of recent. Didn't seem to help my mom" Ryan said in frustration and impatience.

"God and His Word helped your mother more than you will ever know, Ryan. Often, your mother would tell me that she was praying that you would come back to God. God can help you. Which that reminds me... said preacher Brown as he brings attention to the items tucked under his arm by his side". "Your mother wanted you to have this." the preacher said as he extended two small books toward Ryan. "This is your mother's Bible and her journal where she kept her notes from devotions." The Bible was a small, faded burgundy Bible that was very well-used. The edges were tattered and the silver-colored borders of the pages were worn where they had been thumbed through countless times. The journal was nothing more than just a small black notebook that said the words "Walking with the Saviour" on the front cover. Ryan extended his hand to take the Bible and the notebook from the preacher. "Thank you." Ryan responded. Preacher Brown softly laid his hand on Ryan's shoulder, looked him in the eyes with compassion and sympathy and said, " Your mother said to tell you this: When you need answers and God's blessings in your life, go to the Bible, and you will find the help you need." Ryan thanked the preacher once more and quickly separated himself from the preacher's contact.

*Several months later* Ryan and his family are back at home, spring has now fully sprung; the warmth and laughter has now returned to the world around. However, Ryan's spirit and heart were far from warmth and laughter. Ryan was still without a job and no apparent opportunities. Ryan and Michelle's savings were almost fully exhausted and they had no shortage of bills to pay very soon. "Mortage is due in two weeks, Ryan." Michelle warned Ryan. "I know!" Ryan snapped. "What do you expect me to do, Michelle?! I can't find a job! We've spent all the savings; we have no money! What do you want me to do?!" Ryan shot back. "I don't know! I don't know what to do, but we need to do something, Ryan!" Michelle shouted back with tears coming down her cheeks. "Why don't..." Michelle pauses. "Why don't we pray?". Ryan looks at his wife while skeptically, yet seriously considering the idea of prayer. After a long pause, Ryan replies, "No." and he storms out of the kitchen to his bedroom and shuts the door. Ryan walks across the room and sits on the edge of his bed and puts his face in his hands while resting his elbows on his knees. Moments later, Ryan looks up from his hands and notices his mother's old Bible setting over on the edge of his dresser where it had been the last few months, just collecting dust. Ryan stares at the old, tattered Bible and debates whether or not to pick it up. After about twenty seconds of debating whether or not to give God a chance to help, Ryan swallows his pride for a moment and decides to walk across the room and pick up the Bible. Ryan came back to the edge of the bed with the Bible and began to look around the exterior of the Bible. Ryan held the Bible in his hand and was now struggling on whether he would take the next step or not and open and read the Word. Before Ryan opens the Bible, he quickly set it down and left the room with a sigh of frustration.

Two weeks later, the emotions are at an all-time high. Ryan and Michelle are stressed to their wit's end and don't have anything else to turn to. " I am tired of this! All this is your fault!" screamed Michelle "My fault?! Why don't you go get a job?! Oh, that's right; you don't know how to do anything but stay at home" Ryan jabbed sarcastically back to his wife. "What do you think I am doing, Michelle?! Do you think I am just sitting here like you and hoping that a job falls into my lap? I have been out every single day applying for jobs! This is not my fault!" *Loud cries break out the nursery down the hall* Michelle stomps out in disgust and disdain. Ryan, knowing he was wrong, keeps himself from apologizing and goes to his room in frustration. Ryan broke out into tears and fell to his knees beside his bed; his heart was so heavy. "God", Ryan whispered, "...if you love me, I need you to help me now. I have no job, my savings has been decimated over the past several months, I can't pay the bills, and Michelle and I have grown so far apart; we fight so much. Please, God. Help me." Ryan opened his eyes, slowly stood up, and sat on the edge of his bed while wiping away the tears. Once again, Ryan noticed his mother's old Bible just across the room. Ryan remembered what old preacher Brown had told him his mother said: "When you need answers and God's blessings in your life, go to the Bible, and you will find the help you need." Ryan stood up from his creaky old bed and walked over to his dresser to his mother's aged, tattered burgundy Bible. Ryan picked it up and wiped the dust off the cover with just a pass of his tear-saturated hand. He went back and sat on the edge of his bed with the Bible in his hand. Ryan let out a deep, shaky sigh as he was staring at the old Bible in his hands. "Help me, God." Ryan said as he began to open the Scriptures. As he began to open the Bible, he saw something between the pages. "What is that?" Ryan thought to himself. He opened up the Bible, "No! It can't be what I think it is." Ryan said as he removed the item from between the pages with hope. He unfolded the material that was between the pages of his Mother's old Bible to find that it was exactly what he thought it was. "One-hundred dollars!" Ryan exclaimed with a series of emotions. Ryan found himself holding this one-hundred dollar bill in the air stretching it out above his head to test it in the light. Ryan could not believe it; started to chuckle. Ryan set the bill beside him on the bed and turned the next page only to find another one-hundred-dollar bill. Ryan could not believe what was happening. "Two-hundred dollars!" Ryan turned to the next page, and the next page, and the next page, and to his disbelief, he found three more one-hundred-dollar bills! Ryan was so excited! He turned the Bible upside down and held it by the two covers and gave it a slight shake, and one-hundred-dollar bills fell to the ground. "Whoooo!" exclaimed Ryan "What are you yelling about?" Michelle asked in an annoyed tone as she entered the bedroom. "What is all that? Where did that come from?!" Michelle exclaimed "It's all money, Michelle! From my mother's Bible!" Ryan said with joy and with a chuckle in his voice. "Mom must have put one in between every single page in her Bible!" Ryan said. "What's this?" Ryan said as he stooped down and got on his knees on the floor to pick up a small piece of paper out of the pile of thousands of dollars. "It's a note in Mom's handwriting." Michelle hurried to Ryan's side and sat beside him to see what the note said. Ryan read the note aloud, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:19" "I guess God does care." Michelle said in a quiet voice as she looked up at her husband with a tear in her eye. Ryan raised his head and looked into Michelle's eyes and began to cry and said, "I guess so." Ryan grabbed Michelle and they wept tears of joy and relief as they hugged.

God cares about you; He cares about everyone. Take your burdens to the Lord and let Him help you. "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." - I Peter 5:7