February 7th Reflection by Bill Lynch

2 Kings 8:1-6 (NRSV)
The Shunammite widow's land restored Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Get up and go with your household, and settle wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come on the land for seven years." So the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God; she went with her household and settled in the land of the Philistines seven years. At the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she set out to appeal to the king for her house and her land. Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done." While he was telling the king how Elisha had restored a dead person to life, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. Gehazi said, "My lord king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life." When the king questioned the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, "Restore all that was hers, together with all the revenue of the fields from the day that she left the land until now."

Reflection
Protection from harm and restoration for this woman and her household. We all look for protection from bad times but we all don't have the advantage of a warning from a prophet. We also don't seem to get to take advantage of restoration of all that we had before the hard times occurred.

But what draws me into this story is the trust this woman had in God. She trusted her household and herself to be taken care of in some down years. We too can place our trust in God. We know that God will take care of us even as God takes care of the lives of all creatures. All we have belongs to God and restoration is the work of the Savior in our lives each day.

It's a gracious act to restore. As we trust God for our own restoration we look beyond the tough years to a future with hope. Our journey not only looks to the future with hope but also to the present with the joy and love of going through the good times and the bad times knowing that God will bring us through. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Father, give me the trust of the Shunammite woman to live life to the fullest of what you have planned for me that all I do and say may bring you glory and honor... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen