“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
To bring you all up to date, the swelling around Jon’s (my son) brain has gone down significantly. He keeps his eyes open for longer periods of time and seems less sleepy. He responds with a grimace to pain or discomfort, moves three limbs, and blinks his eyes if something gets close to them. If I clap over his head he opens his eyes and looks in the direction of the sound. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t respond to speech nor follow a single verbal command yet. Thank you for all your prayers, my friends, without them I know I wouldn’t see this much progress.
The relatives and I removed all the valuables from my son’s rental home and his garage space. He rented a single family home along with three other roommates in Gurnee. We took a few trips to remove what we could, but none of us had room for the furniture, which we left behind. I told the landlord three days ago that we took what we could, and he can do what he wants with the rest. Leo, the landlord, called me back right away and told me that the room has to be completely emptied and the floor swept clean by Nov. 7th.
When I told the relatives they said forget it, let Leo remove everything and he can keep the security deposit, but Leo insisted we remove more things. I felt very stressed, being the legal guardian and stuck in the middle of a dispute. I had no idea how I could empty the room by myself, but my last words to Leo were simply “OK.”
So, I prayed and asked, “Jesus, help me, I don’t know what to do about Leo.“
Yesterday, I decided to go to the house for one last time, bringing garbage bags and do whatever I can. On the way there, I told Jesus,
“I don’t know what to do about Leo.”
I came to the house, no one was home, and as I opened the door to Jon’s room, I was shocked. It was completely emptied and clean swept. I later learned that Leo the landlord, did it himself, despite what he told me two days before.
I immediately remembered my prayer, asking Jesus what to do about Leo. In that moment I realized Jesus’ answer was, “I’ll take care of Leo“ because He did. This may sound trivial as you are reading this, but for me, it was another sign of God’s grace at a time when so many stressors were piling up. Leo obviously had a change of heart, and I know Who changes all hearts.
On Saturday, I was at a special meeting for church workers, and in a brief message the minister said “We should all be able to say that we know Jesus better today than we did 5 years ago.” That phrase stuck with me and after this experience with Leo, the landlord, I realize how true this is. I do know Jesus better today than I did five years ago. As this scripture says, we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. To know Him better is to love Him more, and to love Him more is to have more confidence in Him today, than ever before.
Lord Jesus, help us realize our own growth in grace and knowledge of you over time, through all the circumstances of our lives. We may not know what tomorrow brings, but we know you are with us in every tomorrow that comes. Amen