A true story: her name was Ann. She had a degenerative disease that would cause her to have total blindness. She married Mark, who was in the military. A couple of years after they were married, she lost her eyesight. They both struggled with the hardship, and they both became depressed. But Mark changed; he became an encourager to Ann. Her confidence began building. Mark reached out to Ann’s former employer, and they found a job for Ann that she could do but still be challenging for her. Mark would drive her to work each day and pick her up. All was going well.

Then, Mark had to explain to her that this arrangement would have to change. His duties in the military would not allow him the time to escort her anymore; she would have to ride the bus to work—on her own. Ann was devastated, and at first, she said she couldn’t do it. But Mark said he would work with her to make sure she would be able to go to and from work.

That first week, Mark was by her side on the bus, and everything worked well. They had counted off the number of stops of the bus to her drop-off point, and they counted the number of steps to the doors of the office building. Mark assured her she could do it. Then, the second week started, and she was on her own. She was scared. The first day went well, as did the second day. The third day was a little rough; it had been raining, and the bus had made an extra stop, but the driver alerted her, so she handled the change well. This went on for over a month.

Then one day, the driver made a comment to her as she was getting off the bus. He said, “You’re a lucky woman to be loved like that.”

“What?” Ann responded.

The bus driver said again, “You’re lucky to be loved liked that.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ann said.

The bus driver exclaimed, “The gentleman who used to ride the bus with you, the one in the military uniform—he is always waiting on street corner for you when you get off, and follows you each day to the office building you go into. When you reach the door, he stands and salutes you. He is like your personal Sentinel! He is then back here every afternoon and watches as you return to the bus stop. You are lucky to be loved like that.”

Ann was in disbelief; she had no idea that Mark had been with her the whole time.

Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.
Ephesians 3:20

That is like our Lord Jesus Christ. He has prepared us the best He could, and He has sent us out into the world. But we get scared; life is hard. Sometimes, we don’t even have the strength to get out of bed. But Jesus is right there every step of the way. When we get lost, we just need to remember to call out His name, and He will let us know He’s there. He is like our own personal Sentinel. When others see our strength in difficult times, they will notice and will say, “You are lucky to be loved like that!”

Today, Lord, we give You thanks for being there at all times for us. Thank You for standing guard, not just for us, but for all those we love, keeping them safe and secure. We pray that we place all of our trust in You each day. We know You have us and that You will not let us fall. We offer a special prayer as well for all those serving in our military that are keeping us safe. Amen.

Have a Watchful Day.