A BUNCH IN A MONTH
seeing Bible. imagining lives.
daily devotional
by
Jeffrey Hillard
for youth around the world
ages 9 – 15
each day, read a verse, and then think about
what the short-short story means to you.
Published by Jeffrey Hillard at Smashwords
copyright 2011 by Jeffrey Hillard
DAY 1
Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
and lean not on your own understanding.”
(NIV)
It was past midnight and Jackson felt he could be lost in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. He’d followed this road from the point of detour signs 25 miles earlier, where part of the highway had split open from the weight of an avalanche.
Driving his rust-spotted 1995 Impala, taking the rough turns with his hands gripping the wheel – this was no thrill. But Jackson didn’t panic. He mumbled the first quick prayer that came to him, something like, “Get me out of this, God.” He said it eight or ten times. He said, “Really. Please.” He wassure God heard him.
Jackson kept driving, of course, even when he slowed to see a huge black bear standing on its hind legs, rummaging through a mammoth dumpster outside a small mountain campground.
About a mile after the bear, he saw the long-anticipated sign: “Gatlinburg – 12 miles.” He didn’t pretend to know how far away the city was. He believed the road would take him to it.
DAY 2
Hebrews 10:35
“So do not throw away your confidence;
it will be richly rewarded.”
(NIV)
The woman’s migraine headaches were gruesome. When she was younger and newly married, she’d lie on the couch for almost two days, packing ice in a thick plastic bag and covering her whole head with it.
She kept the house dark when she was younger.
Over the years she’d seen doctors. She lost count of the number. Although frustrated, she felt certain that one day an even better new medication would prevent pain.
She was this confident.
This week, though, she had her first bad headache in eight months. She had simply forgotten to take her advanced medicine designed to halt a migraine before it actually occurred.
She just forgot. It was a simple mistake.
Still, the woman clung to this new medicine. She had great confidence in it. And the medicine worked. It worked to ease the pain. She was determined to not go far without it.