As most of my good friends know, one of my biggest struggles in life is to eat to the glory of God. It is truly a struggle for me. I like to eat past the point of being full, I love candy and cake and everything that isn't good for me. To some, overeating might seem like a small thing, but to me, it is purely captivity when I am controlled by food. But over the past two years, the Lord has really convicted my heart to stop eating when I am full, give up the sugar, and look to Him and only Him for my satisfaction. He has reminded me that that piece of cake or candy is not going to satisfy me. I continue over and over to try to meet my needs and satisfaction in food, but it leads me to the same result every time...emptiness.
To that end, the Lord has really been working with me. He has given me so many truths and He has satisfied me beyond anything a piece of chocolate cake could do! A few weeks ago, He gave me a promise. Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land.I have been standing on this promise for weeks. I try to remember it when I want to overeat or eat something I know I shouldn't. I realized that IF I am willing and obedient to His Word, God has something so much more for me than food or candy.
Well, in my rebellion, I decided the other day to get some Lemonheads. I don't know if anyone knows what those are, but they are little hard candies. I am driving to the bank and I am eating away. The whole time I am eating, I am remembering that promise and really not caring, if you know what I mean. I'm thinking, I might care after I get done with my candy. Really, I had several days of just rebelling and deciding in my heart that I really just want to eat my candy. So I am chewing away and all of a sudden a hear a crunch, crunch, crunch. I knew it wasn't the candy and I reached in my mouth to pull out a whole chunk of my crown that had broken off.
You know, I just sat there and thought to myself...that's what I get! You know, God's promise to me is contingent upon "IF" I am willing and obedient, then I will get His best. So here I sat, I had just paid $600 to get this crown on not long ago and I was going to have to get it redone at the same price. I even thought I had cracked the tooth next to it.
I went home with a heavy heart. I wasn't willing and obedient and it was clear I was not reaping the best from God. So I went up to my room and I sat quietly before the Lord. I repented and made a committment to Him that by His Spirit, I would look to Him again for my satisfaction and not the candy.
I was so sad that I was going to have to pay so much money to get my tooth done again. So I said to the Lord, "Lord I am turning from my overeating again, for the thousandth time. I know I am back here again, but I ask you to forgive me. This is not too much for you Lord. I know you can redeem my crown too. You can make it cost me nothing if you choose to. But I am putting this in Your hands."
Friday, I went to my dentist and I am thinking anything under $1000 is good (considering I thought I might have hurt the crowned tooth and chipped the tooth next to it). He looked it over and guest what? There was no damage to the underlying tooth and I did not crack the tooth next to it. The crown is still under warranty (If you can believe that...I didn't even know they had a warranty) and it is not going to cost me anything to have it replaced! Nothing is too much for my God. The one thing that really came to me with this experience is not so much the crown being fixed for nothing, but that the Lord just desires me to repent and be right with Him. He WANTS us to have the best from Him and IF we are willing and obedient, He will give it to us. Even if we start out wrong and repent, He will still give us the best. My God is able to do immeasurably more than I could EVER ask or think.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
His Words Heal Our Flesh
After several hours of traveling and waiting in airports, I was finally boarding my plane to Mexico City. It had been in the works for a couple of months and the day had finally arrived. It was March 2003, and I was going to Mexico City on my first mission trip with Operation Serve International. When I boarded the plane, the Holy Spirit whispered something so profound to me, “This will be a life-changing experience for you.” I was so excited. After all, it is always my hope to be changed by Him who is the only one who has the ability to change me. I had no idea what was in store, but I was anxiously awaiting the work of the Lord.
The next morning, we arose early at our hotel and were assigned to our areas of work. We would be going to a dump site in Mexico City and setting up a make-shift medical clinic. Here we would be providing medical, dental, and vision care for the people in the dumps. I’m sure Connie could see the disappointment when she assigned me to work in dental. I was in the middle of nursing school and it was my desire to be used in this capacity. But something in my spirit said God had other plans for me and I was right where He wanted me to be.
I was privileged to work with Dr. Ismael, a national dentist, for the week. He had a measure of faith I had not seen in my three years of Christianity. Our whole team was cut deep in our hearts when he shared his testimony with us one evening. He was about 20 years old (which was about 12 years before this time) when he and another friend had eaten a taco from a street vendor. They both became violently ill and within a few days, his friend sadly passed away. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled this time in his life. He told us day by day, he continued to get sicker and sicker. Finally, the grave news came when doctors told him there was nothing they could do for him and they didn’t think he would live two more weeks. He was not a believer at the time, but the Lord sent his aunts to his side to share with him about Jesus. They explained that the Lord could heal him and if he wanted to accept Him in his life, they believed the Lord would restore his health. Right there, he accepted Jesus in his life and within 3 days, he was completely restored to health. It was truly a miracle. I could go on and on about what God had done in his life since that time His testimony to the Lord and our experience working with him was such a time of faith for all of us. After 10 days of personal revival and being changed from the inside out, we all said our goodbyes to the Operation Serve Team. I returned home but all that Dr. Ismael shared with me about his faith has stayed in my heart until this day.
In June of 2003, the Lord opened another door for me to return to Mexico City for a second mission. Again I arrived to Mexico City for the Lord to finish what He had started in me just three months before. Our team loaded the bus in the morning to go to the dumps. There sitting by herself was a young, quiet woman. I sat down next to her and introduced myself. All the way to the site, we talked and shared with each other. I was sad as she shared with me how as a young child, she never felt loved by her family. She explained how this experience as a child caused her to have some deep wounds in her heart that affected her mentally and spiritually.
After a long time of talking, she started to share in more detail how this experience of feeling unloved had affected her life as an adolescent. Sarah explained that she started noticing that she was not having any “normal” relationships with boys. She didn’t feel comfortable around them and just started to get a lot of anxiety. It really started to bother her and she developed a bipolar disorder. This caused her thoughts to be very clouded and this is where the enemy was able to get her to start believing a lie. She said her thoughts started to mess with her and she felt that maybe because she couldn’t have any normal relationships with boys, that she must be a lesbian. It started to seep into her mind and into her heart and if it weren’t for the Lord’s protection, this lie would have utterly destroyed this woman. She started to struggle with this temptation and it completely ravaged her heart and soul. I have to be honest, as she explained these things to me, I got really uncomfortable. I had just met Sarah on the bus ride to the site and I was sitting all alone with her while she was telling me she struggled with being a lesbian. At that time, I just said a little prayer in my heart to the Lord. “Lord, just help me have wisdom to minister to this woman,” I prayed. I trusted the Lord for His strength because I knew He had me sitting next to her for a reason.
Sarah shared that through all of these emotional, physical and mental struggles, she had committed her life to Jesus and He was bringing her mind back to where it needed to be. She continued seeking the Lord for deliverance in this area that she struggled with. “One time God spoke to me,” she said out of the blue. Sarah explained that she is a math major and she often times will think in terms of numbers. One morning while she was struggling, the Lord placed a number in her heart. The number was 4. A little while later, another number came to her. It was the number 23. She was perplexed by these numbers that were dropped into her spirit, until finally she asked God for understanding. She waited on the Lord and later that morning, the word Proverbs was on her heart. She grabbed her bible and looked up <strong>Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. This was a Word from the Lord and she knew it. She said from that day forward, she had been holding on to those Words from the Lord. I was amazed at God and pondered in my heart how efficient and sufficient He truly is. He is totally able to meet all of our needs in whatever way that He chooses to do it.
As we continued to drive, we had a few moments of silence. When she broke the silence, she said with her quiet voice, “Do you think I am going to struggle with this my whole life?” For a second, I didn’t know if I could answer her. But the Lord quickened my spirit and gave me wisdom…not my wisdom but His. I told her, sexual sin is a problem with your flesh and the Word says, “Do not let my Word depart from before your eyes, because it is health and healing to ALL of your flesh.” I thought to myself…where did that come from? In fact, when she asked me where the scripture was, I didn’t even know. I thought it might be in Proverbs, but we spent the rest of the trip looking through Proverbs to no avail. I apologized to her that I couldn’t find it for her, but I assured her that it was indeed there. I knew she wanted to find it in print so she could hold on to that promise.
Within a few minutes, we heard the rattling of the bus and we were stopped at a gas station to pick up someone. I looked up from my bible and there was Dr. Ismael! I waved to him and he looked surprised to see me. He sat down several seats from me and the bus driver put it in gear and we drove to our site.
Finally, we had arrived at our destination…the dumps. I walked off the bus with Sarah, and apologized again that I couldn’t find the scripture. We gave each other a hug and I encouraged her to keep holding on to the promises of God. She gave me a nod and we walked off to our separate work sites.
As I entered the building, I saw Dr. Ismael standing there. He had a big smile on his face and then he reached right into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of purple paper. Handing me the piece of paper, in his broken English, he explained that right after I left Mexico three months earlier, he and his wife, Rosa, were in a car accident. In their private prayer time with the Lord after their accident, they both had asked the Lord why He had allowed this to happen to them. In answer to them, the Lord gave them three scriptures. Taking the piece of purple paper from him, he said , “And the Lord told me to give these to you because you would need them.” As I think back on this event, I couldn’t even tell you what the first two verses were, but when I looked at the third verse written on the paper, I saw Proverbs 4:20-23. I looked down at the word “Proverbs” and as if the world had stopped for a moment, I immediately knew this was the scripture I was looking for to give to Sarah.
Excitement swirled in my head as I began to grasp that the God of the universe had given this Word to Sarah three months prior to her ever arriving into the country and Dr. Ismael had no knowledge that I would even be there. I snapped the piece of paper into my palm and I ran out of the building and into the bus. I reached up in the luggage carrier of the bus and pulled down my blue bible. There it was in print…Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. It was beautiful. The Lord had provided His Words for Sarah before her search ever began. His Word is true when He says, “ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7
I leapt off the bus to search for Sarah. You should have seen her face when she realized what God had done on her behalf. She lit up like Times Square. The Lord gave her assurance that He was going to take care of her and by His Word and His Word alone He would heal her flesh. We marveled at what an awesome God we were serving. Then she said, “And look, the scripture that the Lord spoke to me months before that I have been holding on to is just below it.” It was as if God was finishing a thought He had for her and waited for the perfect time to finish the thought.
This Jesus is like no other, friends. He is always looking out for you and for me. He is always willing and able to meet all of our needs, physically, spiritually, and mentally. He desires to speak to us personally through His Word, other believers, and through His Spirit. My prayer is that the Lord would speak to you so profoundly that you would never let go of His promises. His promises are for good and the Lord will never fall short of His beautiful promises to you.
The next morning, we arose early at our hotel and were assigned to our areas of work. We would be going to a dump site in Mexico City and setting up a make-shift medical clinic. Here we would be providing medical, dental, and vision care for the people in the dumps. I’m sure Connie could see the disappointment when she assigned me to work in dental. I was in the middle of nursing school and it was my desire to be used in this capacity. But something in my spirit said God had other plans for me and I was right where He wanted me to be.
I was privileged to work with Dr. Ismael, a national dentist, for the week. He had a measure of faith I had not seen in my three years of Christianity. Our whole team was cut deep in our hearts when he shared his testimony with us one evening. He was about 20 years old (which was about 12 years before this time) when he and another friend had eaten a taco from a street vendor. They both became violently ill and within a few days, his friend sadly passed away. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled this time in his life. He told us day by day, he continued to get sicker and sicker. Finally, the grave news came when doctors told him there was nothing they could do for him and they didn’t think he would live two more weeks. He was not a believer at the time, but the Lord sent his aunts to his side to share with him about Jesus. They explained that the Lord could heal him and if he wanted to accept Him in his life, they believed the Lord would restore his health. Right there, he accepted Jesus in his life and within 3 days, he was completely restored to health. It was truly a miracle. I could go on and on about what God had done in his life since that time His testimony to the Lord and our experience working with him was such a time of faith for all of us. After 10 days of personal revival and being changed from the inside out, we all said our goodbyes to the Operation Serve Team. I returned home but all that Dr. Ismael shared with me about his faith has stayed in my heart until this day.
In June of 2003, the Lord opened another door for me to return to Mexico City for a second mission. Again I arrived to Mexico City for the Lord to finish what He had started in me just three months before. Our team loaded the bus in the morning to go to the dumps. There sitting by herself was a young, quiet woman. I sat down next to her and introduced myself. All the way to the site, we talked and shared with each other. I was sad as she shared with me how as a young child, she never felt loved by her family. She explained how this experience as a child caused her to have some deep wounds in her heart that affected her mentally and spiritually.
After a long time of talking, she started to share in more detail how this experience of feeling unloved had affected her life as an adolescent. Sarah explained that she started noticing that she was not having any “normal” relationships with boys. She didn’t feel comfortable around them and just started to get a lot of anxiety. It really started to bother her and she developed a bipolar disorder. This caused her thoughts to be very clouded and this is where the enemy was able to get her to start believing a lie. She said her thoughts started to mess with her and she felt that maybe because she couldn’t have any normal relationships with boys, that she must be a lesbian. It started to seep into her mind and into her heart and if it weren’t for the Lord’s protection, this lie would have utterly destroyed this woman. She started to struggle with this temptation and it completely ravaged her heart and soul. I have to be honest, as she explained these things to me, I got really uncomfortable. I had just met Sarah on the bus ride to the site and I was sitting all alone with her while she was telling me she struggled with being a lesbian. At that time, I just said a little prayer in my heart to the Lord. “Lord, just help me have wisdom to minister to this woman,” I prayed. I trusted the Lord for His strength because I knew He had me sitting next to her for a reason.
Sarah shared that through all of these emotional, physical and mental struggles, she had committed her life to Jesus and He was bringing her mind back to where it needed to be. She continued seeking the Lord for deliverance in this area that she struggled with. “One time God spoke to me,” she said out of the blue. Sarah explained that she is a math major and she often times will think in terms of numbers. One morning while she was struggling, the Lord placed a number in her heart. The number was 4. A little while later, another number came to her. It was the number 23. She was perplexed by these numbers that were dropped into her spirit, until finally she asked God for understanding. She waited on the Lord and later that morning, the word Proverbs was on her heart. She grabbed her bible and looked up <strong>Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. This was a Word from the Lord and she knew it. She said from that day forward, she had been holding on to those Words from the Lord. I was amazed at God and pondered in my heart how efficient and sufficient He truly is. He is totally able to meet all of our needs in whatever way that He chooses to do it.
As we continued to drive, we had a few moments of silence. When she broke the silence, she said with her quiet voice, “Do you think I am going to struggle with this my whole life?” For a second, I didn’t know if I could answer her. But the Lord quickened my spirit and gave me wisdom…not my wisdom but His. I told her, sexual sin is a problem with your flesh and the Word says, “Do not let my Word depart from before your eyes, because it is health and healing to ALL of your flesh.” I thought to myself…where did that come from? In fact, when she asked me where the scripture was, I didn’t even know. I thought it might be in Proverbs, but we spent the rest of the trip looking through Proverbs to no avail. I apologized to her that I couldn’t find it for her, but I assured her that it was indeed there. I knew she wanted to find it in print so she could hold on to that promise.
Within a few minutes, we heard the rattling of the bus and we were stopped at a gas station to pick up someone. I looked up from my bible and there was Dr. Ismael! I waved to him and he looked surprised to see me. He sat down several seats from me and the bus driver put it in gear and we drove to our site.
Finally, we had arrived at our destination…the dumps. I walked off the bus with Sarah, and apologized again that I couldn’t find the scripture. We gave each other a hug and I encouraged her to keep holding on to the promises of God. She gave me a nod and we walked off to our separate work sites.
As I entered the building, I saw Dr. Ismael standing there. He had a big smile on his face and then he reached right into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of purple paper. Handing me the piece of paper, in his broken English, he explained that right after I left Mexico three months earlier, he and his wife, Rosa, were in a car accident. In their private prayer time with the Lord after their accident, they both had asked the Lord why He had allowed this to happen to them. In answer to them, the Lord gave them three scriptures. Taking the piece of purple paper from him, he said , “And the Lord told me to give these to you because you would need them.” As I think back on this event, I couldn’t even tell you what the first two verses were, but when I looked at the third verse written on the paper, I saw Proverbs 4:20-23. I looked down at the word “Proverbs” and as if the world had stopped for a moment, I immediately knew this was the scripture I was looking for to give to Sarah.
Excitement swirled in my head as I began to grasp that the God of the universe had given this Word to Sarah three months prior to her ever arriving into the country and Dr. Ismael had no knowledge that I would even be there. I snapped the piece of paper into my palm and I ran out of the building and into the bus. I reached up in the luggage carrier of the bus and pulled down my blue bible. There it was in print…Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. It was beautiful. The Lord had provided His Words for Sarah before her search ever began. His Word is true when He says, “ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7
I leapt off the bus to search for Sarah. You should have seen her face when she realized what God had done on her behalf. She lit up like Times Square. The Lord gave her assurance that He was going to take care of her and by His Word and His Word alone He would heal her flesh. We marveled at what an awesome God we were serving. Then she said, “And look, the scripture that the Lord spoke to me months before that I have been holding on to is just below it.” It was as if God was finishing a thought He had for her and waited for the perfect time to finish the thought.
This Jesus is like no other, friends. He is always looking out for you and for me. He is always willing and able to meet all of our needs, physically, spiritually, and mentally. He desires to speak to us personally through His Word, other believers, and through His Spirit. My prayer is that the Lord would speak to you so profoundly that you would never let go of His promises. His promises are for good and the Lord will never fall short of His beautiful promises to you.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Dance for Jesus - a Little Rap Song
I went into my daughter's room today and she had gotten hold of one of Chad's notebooks. She scribbled all over it and ripped up all of the pages. When I looked down at it, I could see that it was something Chad had written. I found all the pieces of paper and put them all back together. It really touched me what he wrote and wanted to share it with all of you. Here's a special little rap song Chad wrote.
Dance for Jesus, by Chad Gallego
1,2,3 Jesus loves you and me.
He is the One,
He didn't rest until the earth was all done.
He is great, He is our fate,
He is the truth and not a rumor.
If you think He isn't, you have no future.
Jesus has no sin,
Against the devil He will always win.
Jesus is the way,
So get up, raise your voices, and say...
The devil doesn't stand a chance, so come on, come on let's dance. Dance for Jesus; dance because He is the Son who will save everyone. He sits on the throne night and day; the Word of God is here to stay. We all like sheep have gone astray, but on the cross He dearly paid.
If you always read the Bible, I promise you will never get bored.
The Bible is like a spiritual sword.
In the Bible it says not to kill,but to fill everybody's mind with God's will.
In Heaven there are streets of gold,
So if you want to go, be bold.
Be bold against the world and hardships and pain,
Don't worry about fame.
Be wise,
You are famous in God's eyes.
Jesus is the way,
So get up, raise your voices, and say...
The devil doesn't stand a chance, so come on, come on, let's dance. Dance for Jesus, dance because He is the Son, who will save everyone. He sits on the throne night and day; the Word of God is here to stay. We all like sheep have gone astray, but on the cross He dearly paid.
All those gangsters and want to be homies,
Think they don't need Jesus, but they're just a bunch of phonies.
They pray to all the other gods, but they are unheard.
What they need is the Word.
Don't be like those thugs, who waste their life on drugs.
But do what's right, and fight the spiritual fight.
Jesus loves you and me,
I know you will see,
Jesus is the way,
So get up, raise your voices, and say...
The devil doesn't stand a chance, so come on, come on let's dance. Dance for Jesus, dance because He is the Son who will save everyone. He sits on the throne night and day; the Word of God is here to stay. We all like sheep have gone astray, but on the cross He dearly paid.
Jesus is never wrong and always fair.
If you want to accept Him, it only takes one little prayer.
Don't say God's name in vain,
To Him it is like pain.
Everything that you do, God will always provide for you.
Pay attention to this song,
If you don't, you go the way that is wrong.
Jesus is the way,
So get up, raise your voices, and say...
The devil doesn't stand a chance, so come on, come on let's dance. Dance for Jesus, dance because He is the Son who will save everyone. He sits on the throne night and day; the Word of God is here to stay. We all like sheep have gone astray, but on the cross He dearly paid.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Not the Craigslist Killer, But the Craigslist Healer
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Every night when I make dinner for my family, I look over at the large, empty space in my dining room. After 6 months in my new house, I still don’t have a kitchen table! Every evening, my beautiful, large family gathers around our breakfast bar trying to find a place to eat!
I was determined last week that I was going to find myself a table. I have no idea why I chose that day…John was at work and he would probably shoot me if I went to buy a table without him. But I jumped on Craigslist and saw the most beautiful table I had ever seen and it had just been posted on the site minutes before. It was a hand-crafted, beautifully carved wood table with 8 perfectly padded chairs. I immediately got on the phone to call before someone else bought it.
I called the number on the ad and the woman answered and told me to come over. Johnny hadn’t been feeling good that morning, so he was home from school. My girls were comfortably snuggled on the couch ready to take a nap. I thought it was a perfect time to slip away to go look at this table that would fill this large hole in my dining room.
I arrived at the address and went in to look at the table. It was even more beautiful in real life than it was in the pictures. It was beautifully carved wood and perfect condition. As I looked over the table, I started talking to Lisa, the lady who was selling the table. In the middle of our small talk, she shared that she had been pregnant with quadruplets at an advanced age and only two of the babies survived. They were now four years old. She said she had been going through a very awful menopause and felt at times she might be going crazy. One minute, she was depressed and the other minute she was happy. She said it had been an extremely difficult time for her and for her husband.
I felt for her. I remember the days of feeling depression and having so much anxiety that weighed me down to the point of not being able to function. "And I’m about to be going through a very nasty divorce,” Lisa said matter-of-factly. It took me by surprise how she said it. It was so bold how she said it, but the Lord showed me in an instant she was deeply wounded in her heart. She shared with me that she felt that divorce might be the way they needed to go because her husband just couldn’t take it anymore. “If that’s what he needs to do, then that’s what he needs to do,” she said. I could literally see the wall that she had up trying to protect her broken heart and I could see that she was just frustrated and hurt. Then I asked her, “How long have you known that you were getting divorced?” I was shocked when she answered me that they had just decided they were going to get divorced that day. As I looked over the table, I realized the reason I was there had nothing to do with this beautiful table.
Lisa walked me out and I let her know I couldn’t make a decision on the table without my husband seeing it. When I looked at her sadness, I just felt so much compassion for her and her situation. I started to share with her that our husbands really thrive on the respect that we have for them and we as wives thrive on love. She answered me back, “I want to be respected too. I am sick of not being respected by him.” I knew she was so wounded and my heart went out to her.
I knew at this point, the only thing she really needed from me was to know that Jesus loved her. She felt unloved by her husband, but there was One whose love never failed. So I told her, “Lisa, Jesus loves you more than you know and He has thought about you before you were ever born. He loves you and wants to spend time with you and heal your heart and your marriage.” When I said these words to her, she just broke down and I saw the tears start coming down her face. The love of Jesus is just such a matchless love. In the midst of her feelings of being unloved, just knowing that Jesus loved her seemed comforting.
I let her how my life was before Jesus and that one day, God brought me someone to tell me that Jesus wanted to change my life. I said, “Lisa, I don’t think I’m here about the table. I think God sent you someone like he sent for me.” Right there, I shared with her the beautiful gospel of peace and salvation and I prayed with her as she accepted Jesus Christ into her life as her Lord and Savior. She said that morning, she was sitting out on her patio and she was crying out to God and God is so faithful to have answered her. Jesus was her answer.
1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,” Now Lisa had this hope, the same hope that I have to hold on to. Lisa had been a Jehovah’s Witness for 15 years and when she got out of the church, she didn’t really want anything to do with God. She had family who tried to get her to go to a Christian church with them, but she said she just wasn’t ready. “You know what I’m going to do?” Lisa proclaimed, “I’m going to call my family who has been trying to get me to go church with them and tell them what happened today,” She called her mom and her cousin and said, “You are never going to guess what happened to me today? I got saved!” On the other end of the phone, they were crying because they were so happy for her! Lisa was now able to give a defense for the hope that had entered her heart and share with others.
That same evening, John and went back to her house to look at the table and this woman was such a different person. She had so much joy on her face when four hours before, she looked so desolate and empty and void of joy. It was truly a beautiful picture of God’s grace and forgiveness and restoration.
She shared with us that after I had left her house earlier, she went in to talk with her husband and they were able to talk things through and the Lord restored the division between them. I was so blessed at the beauty and power of Jesus Christ. I am just amazed that this powerful Father has adopted me into His family.
The funny thing was, we didn’t end up getting the table! But God did something so profound in this woman’s life. I was just looking for a table, but God was looking to answer someone’s prayer. Allowing me to even be a part of His work, is just so humbling. While I was thinking of a table, Jesus was thinking of Lisa. I was so touched deep in my soul when Lisa told me, “I will never forget what happened here today.” For me, years may go on, and I may even forget about what happened with Lisa, but Jesus…He will never forget.
Every night when I make dinner for my family, I look over at the large, empty space in my dining room. After 6 months in my new house, I still don’t have a kitchen table! Every evening, my beautiful, large family gathers around our breakfast bar trying to find a place to eat!
I was determined last week that I was going to find myself a table. I have no idea why I chose that day…John was at work and he would probably shoot me if I went to buy a table without him. But I jumped on Craigslist and saw the most beautiful table I had ever seen and it had just been posted on the site minutes before. It was a hand-crafted, beautifully carved wood table with 8 perfectly padded chairs. I immediately got on the phone to call before someone else bought it.
I called the number on the ad and the woman answered and told me to come over. Johnny hadn’t been feeling good that morning, so he was home from school. My girls were comfortably snuggled on the couch ready to take a nap. I thought it was a perfect time to slip away to go look at this table that would fill this large hole in my dining room.
I arrived at the address and went in to look at the table. It was even more beautiful in real life than it was in the pictures. It was beautifully carved wood and perfect condition. As I looked over the table, I started talking to Lisa, the lady who was selling the table. In the middle of our small talk, she shared that she had been pregnant with quadruplets at an advanced age and only two of the babies survived. They were now four years old. She said she had been going through a very awful menopause and felt at times she might be going crazy. One minute, she was depressed and the other minute she was happy. She said it had been an extremely difficult time for her and for her husband.
I felt for her. I remember the days of feeling depression and having so much anxiety that weighed me down to the point of not being able to function. "And I’m about to be going through a very nasty divorce,” Lisa said matter-of-factly. It took me by surprise how she said it. It was so bold how she said it, but the Lord showed me in an instant she was deeply wounded in her heart. She shared with me that she felt that divorce might be the way they needed to go because her husband just couldn’t take it anymore. “If that’s what he needs to do, then that’s what he needs to do,” she said. I could literally see the wall that she had up trying to protect her broken heart and I could see that she was just frustrated and hurt. Then I asked her, “How long have you known that you were getting divorced?” I was shocked when she answered me that they had just decided they were going to get divorced that day. As I looked over the table, I realized the reason I was there had nothing to do with this beautiful table.
Lisa walked me out and I let her know I couldn’t make a decision on the table without my husband seeing it. When I looked at her sadness, I just felt so much compassion for her and her situation. I started to share with her that our husbands really thrive on the respect that we have for them and we as wives thrive on love. She answered me back, “I want to be respected too. I am sick of not being respected by him.” I knew she was so wounded and my heart went out to her.
I knew at this point, the only thing she really needed from me was to know that Jesus loved her. She felt unloved by her husband, but there was One whose love never failed. So I told her, “Lisa, Jesus loves you more than you know and He has thought about you before you were ever born. He loves you and wants to spend time with you and heal your heart and your marriage.” When I said these words to her, she just broke down and I saw the tears start coming down her face. The love of Jesus is just such a matchless love. In the midst of her feelings of being unloved, just knowing that Jesus loved her seemed comforting.
I let her how my life was before Jesus and that one day, God brought me someone to tell me that Jesus wanted to change my life. I said, “Lisa, I don’t think I’m here about the table. I think God sent you someone like he sent for me.” Right there, I shared with her the beautiful gospel of peace and salvation and I prayed with her as she accepted Jesus Christ into her life as her Lord and Savior. She said that morning, she was sitting out on her patio and she was crying out to God and God is so faithful to have answered her. Jesus was her answer.
1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,” Now Lisa had this hope, the same hope that I have to hold on to. Lisa had been a Jehovah’s Witness for 15 years and when she got out of the church, she didn’t really want anything to do with God. She had family who tried to get her to go to a Christian church with them, but she said she just wasn’t ready. “You know what I’m going to do?” Lisa proclaimed, “I’m going to call my family who has been trying to get me to go church with them and tell them what happened today,” She called her mom and her cousin and said, “You are never going to guess what happened to me today? I got saved!” On the other end of the phone, they were crying because they were so happy for her! Lisa was now able to give a defense for the hope that had entered her heart and share with others.
That same evening, John and went back to her house to look at the table and this woman was such a different person. She had so much joy on her face when four hours before, she looked so desolate and empty and void of joy. It was truly a beautiful picture of God’s grace and forgiveness and restoration.
She shared with us that after I had left her house earlier, she went in to talk with her husband and they were able to talk things through and the Lord restored the division between them. I was so blessed at the beauty and power of Jesus Christ. I am just amazed that this powerful Father has adopted me into His family.
The funny thing was, we didn’t end up getting the table! But God did something so profound in this woman’s life. I was just looking for a table, but God was looking to answer someone’s prayer. Allowing me to even be a part of His work, is just so humbling. While I was thinking of a table, Jesus was thinking of Lisa. I was so touched deep in my soul when Lisa told me, “I will never forget what happened here today.” For me, years may go on, and I may even forget about what happened with Lisa, but Jesus…He will never forget.
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