Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

God provided with kindness

March 16, 2018 by Kristin 14 Comments

The same God who provided a ram in the thicket for Abraham provided rescue and kindness following a terrifying situation I recently experienced.

On Sunday morning, my two best friends and I were packing and cleaning up from a fun weekend at the lake with our three families. Sarah and Jaclyn were in the living room with most of the 10 kids, while I was doing some laundry and inventorying our supplies before the upcoming rental seasons gets underway.

As I came up the stairs, I heard several people saying, “Where’s Rachel?” I ask that often, and usually find her hiding behind her rocking chair or beneath the utility sink. The kids started checking some hiding places, and others of us walked outside.

We couldn’t find her. I had no concept of time, but we’re talking several minutes at this point.

I looked more than once down along the shoreline, which is a fairly long walk from our house, and sent other kids up the long driveway. Rachel must have been in a blind spot caused by the curve of the land when I looked toward the water because then Sarah spotted her on the dock. Sarah later told me she moved quickly but slowly because she didn’t want to Rachel to jump into the lake and isn’t sure she was ever so relieved to touch another human.

I was relieved too. I made my way down and met them on their way back up to the house. I hugged Rachel tightly and the spanked her, immediately telling her she couldn’t go down there alone. I made it back to the house with my girl – the youngest among our three families – before I started sobbing. Worst-case scenarios and what-if circumstances flowed freely in my mind as I hugged my most fearless child who must have escaped the house while people were going in and out preparing to head to church.

I told her I was scared when I couldn’t find her. She growled like a monster. I reworded my statement: “I was so sad when I couldn’t find you.” She asked me why I was crying, so I repeated my answer. “Go fishing,” she said, offering her explanation about why she had ventured down to the dock where some dads and older kids were fishing the day before.

Those few minutes drained me and I loaded my family and our things into our minivan grateful we were all back together.

As I started processing the situation, I remembered several months ago I had asked Sarah, my friend who rescued Rachel from the dock, to pray for Rachel’s physical safety. My third-born child’s personality is full of curiosity and lacks fear. She thinks she can do anything the big kids do and does her best to keep up with them. She’s resourceful and persistent. All these qualities will take her far in life but wear me out as her mom.

Sarah has faithfully been praying from her home more than four hours away and then was the one to hand Rachel to me after a terrifying few moments. While texting a few days later, Sarah reminded me she had asked how she could pray for Rachel (and the rest of my family) on Dec. 11. The rescue she made to potentially save my daughter’s life happened exactly three months later. I can’t help but think God prepared her to be present this way.

God is our rescuer, and sometimes
he provides a friend to help.

{Tweet that.}

*****

I’m joining the Five Minute Friday crew with this post inspired by this week’s prompt: PROVIDE. Admittedly, it took me about twice the allotted five minutes to write, but this post has been brewing in my head and this seemed like the right time to tell it.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Five Minute Friday Tagged With: faith, friends, motherhood, Rachel

Comments

  1. Joanne Viola says

    March 16, 2018 at 7:42 am

    Such a frightening situation to face. I cannot imagine and don’t think I would have made it to the house before breaking into tears. And you know Rachel has become loved by so many of us as you share your children with us. I am grateful for God’s protection and for His provision of friends who faithfully pray!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 16, 2018 at 8:30 am

      Well, I think I was feeling so many emotions at once that it was hard to know what to feel, if that makes sense. But when the tears came, they CAME. Lots of tears. I’m so grateful for that provision too, and for the way you love our family from afar. xo

      Reply
  2. SUSAN SHIPE says

    March 16, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Terrifying. I remember when the same type of thing happened to and it was my no-fear daughter! That little booger may need a leash. xo

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 16, 2018 at 8:29 am

      Children are stressful sometimes. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Lauren Sparks says

    March 16, 2018 at 9:49 am

    Beautiful example, friend. Thank you for sharing. And praise God for good friends.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2018 at 10:24 am

      Thank you for being here, Lauren! xo

      Reply
  4. Meghan Weyerbacher says

    March 16, 2018 at 2:34 pm

    Oh my word, I would have done the same thing. We have had a few incidents that were as this, scared me to my core.
    Praise God for keeping her, and providing this friend too!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2018 at 10:24 am

      Thank you, Meghan!

      Reply
  5. Jeanne Takenaka says

    March 16, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    Awww, Kristin. That IS scary! I’m so glad God kept your Rachel safe, and that He used Sarah to pray for you and to help you. When my youngest was wee-small, I had taken the kids to the park with a friend. My little wandered off to the parking lot. When I looked for him, I had never felt such terror as when I couldn’t see him anywhere. A man walked him toward me a few minutes later, but oh, my. There’s no way to truly describe that fear, is there?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2018 at 10:24 am

      Oh my is right! Those times are so scary! Thanks for being here with encouragement, Jeanne! xo

      Reply
  6. Tara says

    March 16, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    What a scary situation. I’m so glad she is ok. God often does provide friends. This week I was so thankful for friends as we grieved and celebrated our friend together.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2018 at 10:23 am

      I’m glad you also got to experience the blessing of friends despite hard circumstances. Thanks for being here, Tara!

      Reply
  7. Shauna Blaak says

    March 18, 2018 at 11:07 am

    Wow, Kristin. As I read all of the comments here, I don’t think one of us hasn’t been touched by a moment like this. Sometimes, kids escape despite our best efforts. Our third child was like that, so much so that we had to put a wrist-leash on him. I remember saying once that “I’ll never do that,” but when we were traveling to South Africa with 12 suitcases, 11 carry-ons and 4 kids, I was soooo glad to have him tied to me.
    Thank You, Father, for protecting Rachel!
    Thank You, Father, for great friends who fill in the gap when we need extra help!
    Thank You, Father, that you love our kids even more than we do, and that we can trust you completely with their lives and destiny!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 19, 2018 at 8:14 am

      Amen. Thank you for being here with encouragement, Shauna!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our ninth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear sixth-grade boy, and our joy-filled kindergarten girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • Books of 2022 … so far
  • Helping adopted teens belong
  • Laundry talk
  • Brave Ben & his broken heel
  • Fifteen

#PorchStories button

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

My kids had a yearbook signing party today. And ki My kids had a yearbook signing party today. And kids today don’t know how to sign yearbooks. Cate, my rising sophomore, says it’s because they have phones to take photos and text each other. She’s probably right. 

But the whole conversation and experience took me down memory lane. So much so, I got these yearbooks from my high school days off my bookshelf and read notes. Admittedly, I can’t remember a few people who proclaimed what a great friend I was and I never called some people who wanted to KIT — that’s Keep In Touch, kids — and left their phone numbers (and pager number in one instance!)! 🤣 

I also proceeded to text the three friends (well, really, five, because two girls married two guy friends of mine) with whom I do actually KIT. I have their numbers saved in my iPhone, thankfully. We have made grown-up memories together. We message and try to see each other. My husband knows their maiden names. 

Truly, how has it been 25 years since I graduated from Oldham County High School? I’m sitting on the porch now, rememebering how faithful God has been and thinking about how high school seems like a lifetime ago but also like yesterday. 💙

HAGS, everybody! 

#memorylane #highschool #livingfaithfully #yearbooks #choosingJOY #reallife
Cat nap! 💕 #catsofinstagram #thirdchild #napt Cat nap! 💕 

#catsofinstagram #thirdchild #naptimeshenanigans #PorchStories #reallife #88daysofsummer #summerisbest
A weekend mostly at home meant I read this domesti A weekend mostly at home meant I read this domestic thriller. I’ve always seen @diane.chamberlain.author’s books, but this was the first one I read. I’ve already downloaded others to my Kindle. 

Living with a secret is all Eve Elliot knows. Her life unravels when she confesses to what she knows and there are ripple effects for her husband and two daughters. I thought I had it all figured out and then there was another surprise right at the end! 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #kindlebooks #kindlepaperwhite #booklover #weekending
Little fish 🐠 big pool 💦 happy place ☀️ Little fish 🐠 big pool 💦 happy place ☀️

#poolpeople #thirdchild #88daysofsummer #choosingJOY #PorchStories #weekending #momlife
Well, COVID has changed our vacation plans. Honest Well, COVID has changed our vacation plans. Honestly, it’s hard to believe two-plus years later, and COVID is still interrupting all kinds of things. I know it’s a privilege to travel, but there’s still disappointment. Regardless, we can’t board a cruise ship in Canada on Monday to go to Alaska when my boy tested positive for COVID last night. (Yes, twice. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

But the real point of this post: we are regrouping and going to Wisconsin Dells next week. I’m excited to see somewhere new, even if it’s not what I’d been planning. Let’s be honest, the logistics to get to the cruise were already a lot, so maybe this closer-to-home trip is meant to be right now. 

Anyway, who has been to Wisconsin Dells area? We found a condo and have a list of things going, but I’m accepting all entertainment and restaurant recommendations.

#wisconsindells #reallife #covid_19 #covid #momlife #88daysofsummer #summervacation
I don’t really want to get into an abortion deba I don’t really want to get into an abortion debate here, but I will always champion the unborn, advocate for life, and support mothers and families. When I say “choose life,” I mean in and out of the womb. Choosing life begins with not having an abortion, but it continues to advocating for adoption, foster care, support for moms in lots of different situations. 

Western Kentucky is blessed with resources that do this, including @lifehousemurray in Murray and @_hopecenter in Mayfield. Those are great places to send your money and diapers, recommend to moms expecting or raising little ones, and keep in your prayers. 

If you know someone fostering, we have Partners In Care Foster Closet that offers clothes and supplies to western Kentucky foster families. No strings attached. 

I will forever be an open book about adoption, so I’ll be happy to talk about that with anyone who desires to know more. I even wrote a book about our adoption stories: bit.ly/PeaceInTheProcess #linkinbio 

My three kids have life because three women chose it for them. Those decisions changed my life for the better, and that’s only one piece of a much bigger story. 

#prolife #chooselife #adoptionislove #momlife #authorlife #livingfaithfully #PeaceInTheProcess #reallife #unplannedpregnancy #adoption #family #sisters #siblinglove #currentevents #roevwade #lifematters
Here we are halfway through the year, and so far I Here we are halfway through the year, and so far I've read 40 books. That pace is well beyond my usual number for the year. Last year I read 62 total. I don't join challenges, plan what I'm going to read next, or even have a goal. But I still love keeping track. 

Some things to know about my reading habits: I like actual books, but I've been reading often on my waterproof Kindle Paperwhite. I introduced audiobooks into my life this year and especially enjoyed some memoirs while I was driving around while the kids were in school. I will quit books if I can't get into them, and I've done that a few times this year. I almost always have a book (or books, hello, Kindle) with me, you know, just in case I happen upon some time to read. Here are some other tips for making time for books and reading more.

Today #ontheblog I'm sharing the list of the 40 books I've read so far this year. #linkinbio What else do I need to read this year?

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #kindlebooks #librarybooks #bloggerlife #amreading #favoritethings #choosingJOY
The third installment in Abby Jimenez’s The Frie The third installment in Abby Jimenez’s The Friend Zone series may have been my favorite in this enjoyable rom-com series that also takes on some serious topics. (See two previous #KHTreads posts for the other two!)

I was reading it on my Kindle, but then I was early to pick up one of my kids … and realized I forgot my Kindle. I swung by the library and read a few chapters in print while I waited. I couldn’t waste reading time! 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #librarybooks #kindlebooks #kindlepaperwhite #reallife #momlife #romcombooks
We’ve taken Cate on two mission trips to Guatema We’ve taken Cate on two mission trips to Guatemala with our family, but sending her with our @hardinbaptistchurch family still felt like a big deal. I’m so thankful for the influence @cbright2, @j.essicalouis, @maggiehelms, and others get to have on my girl during these important high school years.

Cate and her friends got to help host a block party, serve at a local church, work in community gardens and at a foster home, and see some Chicago sites. Through it all, I’m thankful she could draw nearer to Jesus and experience ministry in a new way. 

#livingfaithfully #momlife #firstborn #churchlife #88daysofsummer #missiontrip
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2022 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM