A Word of Encouragement- Glimpses of His Loving Kindness

A Word of Encouragement- Glimpses of His Loving Kindness
March 2, 2026

    
Author’s Note:
I originally wrote this devotional in November 2023. At that time both of my sons Hayden and Thomas were deployed with the US Army. Now, three years later my sons and daughter in law are still serving in the military. Any military family understands that watching the world news can cause a lot of anxiety. Will my loved one be deployed? Will they be in danger? I am finding myself praying for my sons and and my daughter in law throughout the day with many whispered prayers for God’s protection , for His hand on their lives, for them to draw close to Him and to feel His Presence greatly in their lives every day. In Hebrew the word chesed is used to represent the loving-kindness or incredible mercy of God. It describes the deep, enduring love of God that has been lavished upon us. The Bible uses the word chesed over 190 times in the original texts. This devotional is about an experience that I had with the loving-kindness of God in my life the last time that my sons deployed. Praying that you can experience this beautiful Presence of our God in your life today too! Seek Him and He will be found (Isaiah 55:6). As our world is facing another scary time of conflict, let’s not forget to pray for our leaders, our military serving at home and around the world, for our military families, and for each other. 

Original Devotional from Nov. 2023:
Almost a year ago was the last time my children and I were altogether in the same room. My sons have chosen to be in the military and with that comes long separations, lots of moves, and deployments. My oldest son , Hayden , was deployed to Poland in January and my youngest son, Thomas , was deployed to Korea in June. The last day we were able to spend together was in late December 2022. 

​Two very special things happened during that visit. The first was that my sons gave me the car they had shared in high school and told me to trade it in so I could get my first new car in twelve years. My son Hayden went with me to the dealership and asked all the hard questions, asked for the Carfax report, and when we took it for a test drive made me pull over so he could pop the hood and check out the engine. When we came back to the dealership he talked shop with the dealer , and made sure I got a good price. 


The second thing that happened was that one night I came home and it sounded like Niagara Falls in my basement. I knew as soon as I got out of my car what had happened. Yep, my water pipes had burst in my basement. When I opened the door I saw at least an inch or more of water already on the floor. I tried and tried but could not get it to stop. My son Hayden came in the middle of the night to help me. He was able to shut off the water and helped me for the next two hours to sweep the flooded water over to the basement drain. At one point I laid my head on my washing machine and cried . Hayden just came over and hugged me and said, “I’ve got this mom. Don’t worry about it. It will be ok.”.  The next day Hayden came back and fixed all my pipes as good as new. 


When my boys had to leave after Christmas to go back to their bases in Texas it was a tearful sad day.  I was praying for all three of my children and reading in the Bible. This beautiful Scripture jumped out at me from Jeremiah 31:16-17, “ Thus says the Lord; “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work. Declares the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.  There is a hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.”.  This Scripture was so impactful for me. In that moment, the gentle peace of the Lord surrounded me and comforted my heart. All I can describe it as is loving kindness. I knew this was going to be a very hard year, but I knew that the Lord would be with me through it all. 


I hung this Scripture up on the wall in my office. I read it every single day. I held onto it as a promise that God would help me through every situation I was facing (and He did!). I held onto it as a promise that God would reward me for my work (He has!). I have held onto it as a promise that God would bring my sons back from the land of the enemy! Today I pulled it out of my desk drawer and read through it again. Again , I felt that special loving kindness of the Lord in my heart and I remembered how God used His Word and His Presence to pull me through some major challenges in 2023.  Friday my daughter in law called me to let me know that my son Hayden is coming home from his deployment! He should arrive on US soil Tuesday at 4:30 am in Texas! Although I won’t be able to be there in person, I have felt such relief to know that he is going to be home safe. Now, just a few more months and my son Thomas will be home in the US too. 


How fitting that Tuesday is our Veteran’s Day Program at school , where we will honor our military service members past and present.  While I am helping our students honor and celebrate our service members, I will also be celebrating that my son Hayden is home! All I can say is “Thank You God!” . All weekend I kept thinking of Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.”. The Words of the Bible can be a great comfort in both the good times and in the hard times. They are truly a treasure that we should hide in our hearts and minds.


I thank God for this hard year- the good and the not so good . He has drawn me closer to Him, closer than I have allowed myself to be in a long time. He has helped me learn to trust Him more, how to love Him more, how to step out in faith more than I have in a long time, and how to let him become my everything. There were times I did not know if I could make it, if I could keep holding on. Then I would go back to my promise and I would read it over and over again, holding onto every syllable. Oh how much strength and hope it gave me to keep holding on. I am so thankful that I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! If you are in the struggle , just hold on. Hold on to the promise of God. Hold onto your faith. Hold onto hope. He is there with you through it all! Surely His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. 



Scriptures to Encourage You:
Psalm 27:13
“ I remain confident of this , that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Songs To Encourage You:
My Portion (Shane & Shane) I love this song so much!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Q33MX9XmE

Hold On (Katy Nicole)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s3k8aUaFqk

I Will Carry You (Ellie Holcomb)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IziBz0d5yOk

Psalm 23 (Phil Wickham & Tiffany Hudson)
https://youtu.be/q25xEFyTHFY?si=lXOY8lTTpnav2uvD



Love You Dearly!
Melissa Boggs
Christian Life Academy Administrator

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