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The
Power to Protect
Ruby Davey tells of God's hand on children
 hat
weather we’ve had recently! Gale force winds, and rain, and more
rain! Slates coming off roofs, trees uprooted, rivers flooding
and lorries overturning. What chaos!
As I was
watching these scenes on television, my mind went back to an incident
in my own life.
I was just
a very little girl and I lived with my parents and brother (who
was four years older than I) in a miner's cottage known better
in Scotland as a "wee but and ben".
One day,
while my parents were out, my brother and I were left to our own
devices. We played as children do, and after a while we started
chasing each other across the room. We were laughing and giggling,
running from one side to the other, having great fun!
I remember
making one last vain effort to catch my brother, one last dash
to the wall. I got there just before there was a great crash and
the ceiling caved in! There right in the middle of the floor was
a great pile of masonry and debris which would certainly have
killed me had I been one second slower! I was terrified and stood
rooted to the spot, unable to move, my hair and clothes covered
in white powder and dust as it slowly rose from the floor. As
my brother shouted "Don't move!", I looked up at a big hole where
the ceiling had been and beheld a beautiful blue sky. I was still
shaking with fear as my brother also could have been killed. He
too was in a terrible state, it was indeed an awful experience.
was too young then to know anything about God, but as I look back
now I realize that He protected me then and has done so over many
years since.
Now we are
in another century when buildings are so much better and stronger.
Yet despite that, as I have witnessed the mighty power of God
and as I've watched the raging sea and seen huge waves dashing
against the shore and cliffs, sometimes sweeping people standing
there right out to sea, and boats being tossed about like matchwood,
the words of Psalm 93 come to mind: 'The seas have lifted up their
voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves' - yet the
Lord is even mightier. He who is so powerful says to us 'Before
I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1.5)! I find that incredible
to take in and beyond my understanding, yet it is so true and
brings me great comfort during times of trial and danger, and
makes me seek to trust Him even more!
Ruby
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