Little Providences from A Big God! … (May 2021 Update)
Every day, we experience “little providences” from the hand of God, but we usually don’t notice it. The providence is mysterious – often even hidden from our eyes. Yet the little providences that we do see remind us that the Lord is working all things together for good even behind the scenes.
The word “providence” is a Latin term which literally means to “see before.” It means that God sees everything before anything happens and He makes plans to accomplish what He desires. Biblical providence is not the same as fate or luck. Luck is blind, but God is all-seeing. Luck is what happens accidentally; providence happens because God sees and plans ahead. Fate is impersonal; it does not care about the people who are affected. Providence is personal; it comes from the hand of a loving Father.
Since we don’t see what God is doing, we are often (at least initially) frustrated by the providences of God. We desire one thing, but it seems like God is letting everything get in the way of our plans! Providence often feels frustrating – until we see the amazing way God is working out everything for His glory and for our good. On our trip back to the US this past month, we experienced many “little providences” – some caused me a great deal of frustration. But the Lord showed us His kindness and His wisdom in each situation.
To return to the US, we had many COVID “hoops” to jump through along with many airline changes and complications that caused me constant anxiety. All our family members had to test negative for COVID 72 hours before boarding the plane and also again 24 hours before boarding the plane. And we had to do our best to avoid being around others who might have COVID. Unfortunately, Katya’s mother and another close relative tested for COVID weeks before we left. It was frustrating not being able to do much to help out. Then we had various legs of our flight canceled nearly every week, requiring multiple times of 3+ hours of waiting on the phone to try to find seats for us on other flights to get us home! But that was the easy part!
Two days before our flight, our electric went out in the morning. I had a lot to finish up for the online class that I am working on, but I just had to wait until the evening until it came back on. When the electric did come on, it blew out my router!!! I ran to the local electronics stores in before they closed, but they cannot sell routers because (under COVID) routers are not “essential items” (remember the printer story from a few months ago)!!! But I HAD to get this work done – that NIGHT! Then I remembered that, when we bought Katya’s mobile phone 3 years ago in the states, my son Joel said it had a function where you could “tether” it to a tablet and use the phone’s mobile data to access the internet. It took me a couple of hours to search online and then figure out how to set everything up, but it worked, and I was able to finish my work for class.
We had also heard that the EU was not allowing Ukrainians to fly through EU airports! We even had two neighbors who told us about family members turned away at the airport, even with their tickets and negative COVID tests. I wrote the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands and they said this was true but that my Ukrainian wife could travel with me through EU space as long as we were married. I printed out their email in case someone at the airport did not know this.
At the airport check-in at 2 am in the morning, they informed us that she could not travel unless we had a marriage certificate. I showed them the email and they decided it would be sufficient and we could fly from Kyiv to Amsterdam. We finally felt we were through all the difficulties.
Then, while the plane for the US was boarding in Amsterdam, they called Katya to the desk and told her they needed her marriage certificate to travel further. I showed them the email, but they said the email only says IF she was married, she could travel through the EU – they needed the marriage certificate to prove she was married to me. We did not have it so they said we could show an electronic copy and could use the airport internet to access my cloud files. I tried multiple times on my tablet but could not get it to connect. Almost everyone was boarded. Then I remembered the “tethering” trick I used two days earlier. It worked! The electric being off, and the router being burned out was a “little” providence.
Still, that was not enough. When I showed the agent the electronic copy, she said, “I can’t read Ukrainian.” As the plane continued to board, Katya remembered that I had my Ukrainian ID that showed both English and Ukrainian. So, I took it to the agent and showed them my name translated and they accepted it! We were the last ones boarding but we had made it. Thanks to a “little” providence from our big God!
But that’s not all. We could share many more but here’s one more, special providence that God gave us. This trip we are staying in Fayetteville during the week and travelling to Cabot/LR on weekends to visit people in churches. We had planned to attend Cornerstone on May 2 with the Mintons and then spend the day with them and their girls. But Jake called early Sunday morning to tell me that two of his girls were sick and so we would not be able to spend the day together. What a bummer! All our well-devised plans were being frustrated!!!
So, we made a last-minute decision to go to Summit instead and see friends there. Strangely, although we have many, many friends that we normally see there, we did not see any of them. But, providentially, this was Bill Elliff’s last Sunday as the lead pastor at Summit so we were able to enjoy hearing him preach and listening to the testimonies about God’s blessings through his ministry there. AND Bill’s family also came for the special celebration, including Jim and Pam Elliff! What a great blessing to see Bill, Holly, Jim and Pam (I think Pam was taking pictures, so she is not in them. But I included a picture of her from Jim’s FB). We did not know about this event. We did not know Jim and Pam would be there. And we would have been at Cornerstone. But God knew better and, in His “little” providences, provided a very special time for us!
We could add a couple of others if space permitted. It is hard to accept when our plans do not work out (for me at least – Katya is much better at trusting the Lord than me!). But it is assuring to see how God works His providences in mysterious ways. (BTW, we plan to be at Cornerstone on May 23, d.v.).
But how can we apply our understanding of God’s providence to our lives? Here are 4 important considerations.
- Don’t worry – Trust! In Matthew 6, Jesus told the disciples not to worry but to trust God. In His governing over all creation, God even cares for the sparrows and the grass and the flowers. Jesus reminds them: “Are you not of more value than they?” Don’t worry – God is in control. He has a plan and a purpose for everything.
- Be Thankful – God’s in control. In Phil. 4:4, Paul tells the church at Philippi not to worry but, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” We can rejoice even in difficulties knowing that God is in control.
- Act Rightly – Concurrence. We are never told to simply sit back and do nothing because God is in control. On the contrary, we are told to live and act in such a way that all we do honors God. In 1 Peter 3:8-17, Peter reminds a greatly persecuted church about the importance of suffering according to the will of God. This is a longer section but listen carefully to what he says about acting rightly even in times of suffering: “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For “He who would love life. And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Remember – concurrence means that God has given us a free will. Our free will choices work in concert with His sovereign plans. We need to use our free choices to act rightly, knowing we will give an account to the Lord for our actions.
- Be Faithful – even to Death. In Revelation 2:10, the Lord tells some that they will suffer and be thrown into prison, and some will die a martyrs’ death. But He encourages them to “Be faithful until death….” When we know God is in control, even in the most difficult of circumstances we can be faithful, even unto death.
We are grateful for this opportunity to be able to return and visit family and friends in the US. It was a last-minute decision because we were concerned that it might become more difficult in the Fall as more and more countries and companies require the “vaccine passport” for travel. But we are so grateful that we have a Big God that provided us with so many “little” providences!
Teaching Ministry …
I am currently teaching Research and Critical Thinking class online right now even though I am in the states. Because of COVID concerns, Natalia Tereschenko and I are teaching this class on-line again like we did last year. Natalie and I are meeting with students by Zoom once a day while I am in the states. Fortunately, our meeting times will be early in the morning in the US so I will just have to get up a little early for these meetings. But at least I will still be able to teach the class this year. Be praying for us as we teach this important class that helps our students learn to communicate more clearly and accurately.
Family Times …
Before we could leave for the states, we had lots to do. Most of our time was spent in getting ready for next winter. I often jokingly tell Katya that Ukraine has two seasons – winter and getting ready for winter (I’m exaggerating – it’s not that bad!). So, before we left, we had to get our wood delivered, split and stacked for the winter because we would be gone over the summer. We were able to get the wood delivered and then everyone pitched in to help including one of our dear neighbors! Now we have enough wood to stay warm throughout the winter.
We also worked in our neighborhood helping clean up near the forest. Unfortunately, one legacy of Soviet times is that everyone expects the government to clean up for them. So, our parks and forests are trashed. But we have some younger neighbors that have spearheaded cleaning up much of the area near us. It was wonderful to have the girls be able to help out too so that we can one day have cleaner forests near us.
Even though it was generally cold outside, we still were able to have some fun in the cold. The girls pretended they were on the beach and spent time climbing trees. One day when the electric went out (again), we built a fire in our fire pit and had a great time with a cookout in the cold weather. We are learning to enjoy whatever the Lord in His providence gives us.
Time in the States …
We’ve only been in the US a few weeks, but the girls have had a really wonderful time! First, of all, we got to be in Cabot to see Halley’s first prom and Aimee and Halley’s first ROTC dance. Also, Kristina and Nadia have had a blast playing with Haven and Harlie (Meredith and Sean’s girls). They have been playing dress-up and going to the children’s museum and the botanical gardens. It might be hard to get the girls to want to come back to Ukraine after all this time with Haven and Harlie!
We even had a chance to hike a little at Petite Jean State Park.
We wish we could spend more time with everyone, but we are really limited this trip to seeing family. We are hoping to see most of you at church one of the weekends that we are in town. We are in Arkansas for May, then Floridia for most of June and then we will be in CT over July 4th before we head back to Ukraine. In between we plan to do a lot of garage sales – this is how we have been getting all our clothing for the girls. The prices are great, and we just buy clothes for the next 2-3 years and ship them back to Ukraine.
Health Issues …
My health continues to improve but I continue to have ups and downs. I’ve been doing pretty good the few weeks we have been here, but I have still had a couple of pretty severe colon episodes and some BP problems too. We are seeing progress and improvement but, most of all, I am learning how to manage my health issues. Thanks for praying for me, my health and my strength!
Pray for Ukraine …
Please remember to pray for Ukraine. Right now, things are outwardly calm as Russia has announced it will pull back its troops. In reality, it pulled back a small fraction of the troops and left all the tanks, missiles and other equipment in place so that they can rapidly escalate if needed. Also, Ukraine just recently announced charges of treason against two of Putin’s best friends in Ukraine. While these charges were necessary, we are not sure what will be the repercussions of this. Pray for our graduates still serving in Crimea and the war-torn east as well as our graduates serving as chaplains too.
We are praying especially for the US in the midst of major social, political and economic changes in the country. It is hard to believe what is happening. I told some friends that it seems like Ukraine is trying to move toward “the rule of law” while the US seems to be moving away from it to rule by violence and censorship. This is hard to watch. We are praying.
Thank you for praying for us as we enter our 26th year of teaching in Ukraine. These last 25 years have been full of examples of God’s “little providences” in our lives. We are sure that He has many more in store for us – pray that we will be patient enough to wait and see what He is doing! Pray that we will never forget that we serve a Big God who delights in “little providences!”
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
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