GOODNESS AND MERCY

Posted in Thank You! on July 12th, 2008 by Administrator| | .

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:6

So many of us spend our whole life worrying about tomorrow that we never stop and enjoy today. Psalms 23:6 is a great verse that serves as a reminder to us about God’s love and faithfulness to His word. Because of God’s goodness and faithfulness we can expect His protection and provision. No matter what happens to me I can expect three things to happen:

1. It will be for my own good.
 2. It will be for the good of others.
 3. It will be for the Kingdom of God.

David, when he wrote Psalm 23, had a lot of disappointments. David says that good will always come out of whatever happens even in the bad, the evil, and difficult.

In April of 2005, Libby and I were told that our youngest son, Matthew, was autistic. I will never forget carrying my not yet two-year old son from the doctor’s office out to the truck. My eyes were filled with tears, my heart was broken, and I trembled with fear about facing the future. How do I provide for him? Will we ever connect because Matthew doesn’t talk? What kind of father and son outings will we have? What goodness and love will follow us in the days to come?

Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer not to get overwhelmed about the future, but to take it one day at a time. He teaches us to pray for our daily bread, the strength to make it each day. In the days since Matthew’s diagnosis, I have learned a lot about God’s goodness and love. I am a 100 times better dad, minister and person because of Matthew. I love him and need him a lot more than he needs me.

On July 19, I will have the privilege to do the invocation for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Special Needs ball field at the Acworth Sports Complex. The special needs ball field will be the first of its kind in many ways. It will be the main field at the complex. All of the kids will be playing together at the same complex. The concession stand will be operated by children with special needs to help them develop their job skills. I hope that other cities throughout America will follow our lead and build more special needs sports complexes.

God’s goodness and mercy truly has followed me every day since Matthew’s diagnosis. My eyes have been opened up to a whole new world. God has expanded my ministry to new horizons. I would have never dreamed about building a special needs ball field. I would have never met so many wonderful children and parents. I would have never have met so many wonderful people who have given their time, talent and treasure to such a great cause.

I can’t wait until July 19 when my family will join other special needs families to witness God’s faithfulness. My prayer is that when you are faced with a tough life circumstance, that you will remember God’s goodness and love and that you will trust him for all of your tomorrows.

Marlon

P.s. I love you Matthew with all my heart!

One Response to ' GOODNESS AND MERCY '

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  1. Tain Kell said,

    on July 19th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    Marlon,
    It was a wonderful experience and a true blessing to see the beginning of something so great in our community this morning. Thank you for your dedication to God and to our community. It is amazing what happens when we listen to the Holy Spirit.
    God bless you, your family and your ministry.
    Sincerely,
    Tain

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