When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2

Twenty-six-year-old Ashley Swendsen is going to have a baby. That's good news! Ashley is doing her best to stay healthy for the birth of her child. That's also good news.

Of course, it is a rare day when anyone gets nothing but good news.

A little over a week ago, Ashley was on a hiking trail in northwestern Colorado Springs. Ashley thought she was all alone. She wasn't. Ashley was being followed by a black bear. That's the bad news.

Ashley picked up her pace; the bear did the same. Eventually, Ashley scrambled up an embankment to get away from the trailing bear. It was a smart move; it would have been a successful move if Ashley hadn't, at the top of her climb, been clobbered by a car.

You see, every day has good news and bad news.

Lest you be overly concerned, Ashley is all right and the baby is fine, too. On the other hand, the bear didn't fare so well.

Now the point of this devotion is a simple one. The Lord was with Ashley when she became pregnant. He watched over her when a bear was chasing her. He was watching over her when a car hit her.

Indeed, there was never a time when Ashley and her child were not under the protection of the Lord.

And the same is true for all of us. Because of the Savior and the reconciliation He made between heaven above and sinners below, floods can't overwhelm us; fires cannot singe us. Indeed, nothing can separate us from God's love. Not even bears or slow-moving cars or anything else in all creation.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, St. Paul wrote that nothing could separate believers from Your love, which comes to us in Christ Jesus. We who have been saved by Jesus rejoice that You are keeping us and carrying us through the good and bad days of our lives. In Jesus' Name, we give thanks. Amen.

P.S. - Ashley says that whether it's a boy or girl, the child's middle name will be "Bear."

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 28-29    Luke 23:26-56

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