God's Not Dead!

 

GOD'S NOT DEAD!

 

We recently took our family to the theater to see the new movie, “God’s Not Dead.”  It was a real treat for us.  We usually wait until the movies come to the dollar theater before we go and see them.  But I sensed this was a worthwhile movie to pay for!  We packed up the family and went to the theater.  It really was a movie that delivered all that it promised!

Later that night, my 15 year old son, Chad, said, “Mom, I feel so inspired after seeing that movie.”  I gave him a hug and it was off to bed.  Little did I know, this was just the beginning of God’s work in my son.  The next week, as Chad and I drove in the car, he told me, “Mom, after watching “God’s Not Dead,” I’ve decided I’m ready to live for Christ. I’m done living for myself.”   I continued driving in utter amazement at what he was telling me.   He continued on with fervor,  “You know what else, Mom?  All day long at school, all I can think of are ways that I can defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how I can be a light to the people at my school.”  I have to say I was speechless.  I thought to myself, “Do I sit around all day and think of ways I can defend my faith?  Do I look for opportunities to be a light?”  My whole purpose in life is to share Christ with whoever comes into my path.   But when was the last time I had shared Christ with a stranger?  You know, those God appointments that just happen from out of nowhere?   When had I actually slowed down to look for God’s opportunity to share?  How many hours of my day had I spent thinking about how I might be able to slip away to get some “me” time.  I reasoned in my heart that some days I had spent more time thinking about what to make for dinner than thinking about a soul who needed to know Christ loved them and died for them.

I looming feeling of conviction came over my heart.  Not a feeling of condemnation, but a gentle conviction from the Lord.  Was I truly living with a passion for Christ and His glorious Gospel of forgiveness?  Through Chad’s excitement and passion to defend his faith, I had been inspired myself!   I needed to prayerfully and purposefully walk in that same light that Chad was learning to walk in.   The next chance I had to be a lone with the Lord, I said a simple prayer in my heart, “Lord, I know I am called to evangelize, so please, open doors for me and I will walk in the light of my calling.  I was compelled to go back to my first love and to live with a passion for the Gospel of Christ.    

Today I was so blessed to spend the morning with my beautiful friend, Crystal.  She really is a gem.  She loves the Lord and has a passion to walk with Him.  We met at my favorite nail place for a pedicure.  She had desperately tried to make an appointment at another salon because she had coupons for free pedicures.  Over and over, she tried to make the appointment until she became so frustrated that she threw her hands up and said, “Lord, obviously, this is not where you want us to go so this is in your hands and I am going to make an appointment somewhere else.”

As we sat with our feet in the hot water, we basked in God’s great faithfulness and love for us.  Back and forth we shared and testified of the work He was doing in our hearts and in our families.  We didn’t think we were bothering the man and the woman who were making our toes beautiful.  In fact, we weren’t even sure they spoke English.  Neither of the nail techs had said one word as they massaged our feet.  We went about our time glorifying God and assumed we were as good as alone since they weren’t understanding what we were saying. 

 

 

After the last stroke of polish was put on our toes and we sat back in our massage chairs, the woman who was painting Crystal’s toes looked at us inquisitively and in PERFECT English said, “So how do you know what path to take when there are so many choices?  How do you know when God is leading you? “ We were stunned and totally unprepared for the question.  We were unaware that she had been listening intently the whole time. 

To our amazement, God had set this appointment.  The woman shared that her name was Anne and she had been just introduced to Christianity from her boyfriend of nine months.  She said she had a lot of questions and she was just learning about who God was.  In the moment, I knew the Lord wanted us to share with her.  As she finished up our toes, we shared with her the greatest gift of all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We could see the utter excitement on her face as we shared that the Lord loved her desperately and that she could be forgiven and given new life.  When we asked if we could pray with her to receive Christ, we thought she may be reluctant since all of her coworkers were there and other people were around.  We knew the fruit was ripe when she didn’t hesitate for a second to pray with us to invite Jesus Christ into her life. 

What a blessed morning to be a part of God’s greatest work.  What an amazing experience to walk in the light of Christ and to see His purpose.  He truly is our exceedingly great reward and we were greatly blessed to see someone go from this life into eternity.  As we shared with her, she said, “There’s a reason you are here.”  She knew there was a purpose in our meeting and it was Christ and His greatest sacrifice.  I shared that if God never did another thing for us now until the time we died, He has done absolutely everything He ever could have in the death and resurrection of Christ.  When we really think about it, we realize that when everything else is stripped away, the only thing left is God’s perfect love for us and His ultimate sacrifice.  God truly is always working.  He is always answering prayer.  He is always bringing glory to Himself because He deserves all the fame.  He is all He says He is and I am here to declare with passion in my heart, “GOD’S NOT DEAD!  HE IS TRULY ALIVE!”

 

PS  If you feel led, I'd love to hear your personal story of how God has made Himself ALIVE in your life.  Feel free to post a comment  to share your testimony!  I'd love to be blessed by hearing how God is working in your life!

 

I am Convinced...By God's Love!

I really am convinced by this beautiful love that God has for us.  Who can measure it?  Who can know it fully?  Only He knows how much He loves and adores us.  When all else fails, it's His love that holds me up.  When my world comes tumbling down, His love causes me to stand.  Not because of anything I have in myself or anything I could do on my own.  Just by the Word of God and this beautiful love that changes everything.  Be convinced by His love and know that nothing can ever separate you from it...never and nothing!

I am sharing at a Mother's Day brunch about my favorite subject...God's love.   I cannot think of a better theme and I am so excited.  The Lord gave me a vision to take Romans 8:38-39 and bring it to life from a child's perspective.  God desires for us to be child-like in our faith.  So I asked my 5 and 7 year old daughters to draw the pictures for me.  Nothing in my imagination could have prepared me for the outcome.  God gave me the vision but He brought it to life through the thoughts and expressions of my daughters.  I am blessed that Grace and Bella can express in drawing God's deep and lasting love for us.  I thank God for them and the blessing that this little book has had in my life and others.  I wanted to share it with the world!  A very, very special thank you goes out to Mrs. Laura Reyes, my fellow laborer in Christ, who spent hours of her time using her God given gifts to make these pages come alive!  I love you and thank you with all of my heart! 

My prayer as you read Romans 8:38-39 and see the pictures, that you would know that God's love for you is real.  It can never be taken from you for any reason.  God's love changes people and I hope this book changes you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give up!

 

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  

A friend of mine once gave me a refrigerator magnet that read, “Raising Teenagers is Like Trying to Nail Jello to a Tree.”  I remember reading it and wondering what that meant.  I’m still not exactly sure what this saying means, but I am certain that in the midst of raising teenagers, I am coming into a more solid understanding of this silly saying! 

Raising teenagers is a challenge.  I remember the days when my sweet this 5 year old twin boys hung on to every word I said.  I could even tease them and they would believe me.  But something happens to teenagers on their 13^th birthday.  It seems on that very day they develop gross hearing loss and all of the words we say from that day forward are met with deaf ears.  I am reminded by my deaf teenagers that my advice and ideas are from the “old days” and not for the here and now. 

To tell the truth, as soon as the teenage years start, everything our teenagers have promised they wouldn’t do, they find themselves doing.  Everything they swore would never happen, starts happening.  Honestly, I have lost sleep over worrying.  I have worn myself out trying to control things.  I have lost hope in preaching to them.   I have lost my voice trying to persuade them.  So after some consideration, I have decided to give up!

Now I don’t mean I have given up on my teenagers.  That’s not the case.  But I have given up on myself.  I have given up trying to control them.  I have given up on trying to manipulate them to do what I want them to do.  I have given up trying to keep them for myself.  I have given them up to Jesus Christ.  I have handed them over to Him knowing He has all of the wisdom, all of the power, all of the ability to do all that He wants with my teenagers!  I feel so much peace giving up and I think you should give up too! 

This mother gave up….

Luke 7:12-15  As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.  And a large crowd from the town was with her.  When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”  Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still.  He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Here is this mother who could not be more hopeless.  Her son had died.  She cries out to Jesus.  He sees her and has compassion on her.  He meets the child’s need for healing.  And He gives the child back to the mother!  Restoration at its best!  The Mother gave up and Jesus met the child’s need and then He returns him better than he was before!

This Father gave up….

Luke 9:38  A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth.  It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.  I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.  “O unbelieving and perverse generation,”  Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?  Bring your son here.  Even while the boy was coming, demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion.  But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 

You see the same pattern?  The father is desperate and He calls out to the One who has the ability to meet his child’s need.  Jesus recognizes the need and responds.  After He delivers the boy from the evil spirit, Jesus hands him back to the father.  Restoration!  The Father gave up and Jesus met the child’s need and then returns him to the father completely changed!    

Even Hannah gave up…

1Samuel 1:11  And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head. 

Hannah was desperate.  She called out to the Lord and He heard her.  Before she ever laid eyes on that little baby, she had given up!  She had given him over to the Lord.  As soon as she weaned Samuel, she brought him to the temple.   Of all of the places in the world, Samuel had to stay at Eli’s house!  Eli was a horrible father.  But you see, it didn’t matter where Samuel grew up or what he was exposed to or where he went, Hannah have given up.  She had given up Samuel to the Lord and she trusted Him.  Hannah gave up and Jesus met the child’s needs and He handed him back to Hannah as one of the greatest prophets in history!

So how do we raise awesome teenagers?  What’s our answer?  We give up!  We become hopeless in ourselves.  We give them over to the Lord and He will return them healed, delivered, and changed in ways we could never have accomplished on our own.  Give up!  Hand them over.  Let us call out to the Lord and He will hear us.  He will meet our teenager’s needs in the most amazing ways!   But first, we must give up! 

Being Last

Mark 10:44  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

 

It’s not natural to think of others first and to serve them.  In fact, I think of myself and my needs a lot more often than I think of others.  The world shows us we need to win in life.  We need to think of ourselves first.  The world says it’s best to win the race.  But the bible teaches winning the race means we come in last place.  Matthew 20:16  So the last will be first, and the first will be last. 

My nursing job is a huge blessing.  I know it’s a gift from God.  But I usually forget this fact some time during my week.  My focus turns away from the Lord and His service and on to myself.  Instead of my feet being shod with the Gospel of peace, I start to stomp my feet and make silly demands.  I ponder on my job’s shortcomings and their unfairness.  After all, why do I have to always be the one that gets floated off of the floor to other units?  Shouldn’t someone else have to do it?   And on and on it goes. 

Over the last several weeks, the Lord has taught me some very valuable lessons.  The first is, if I want to be servant of God, I must be willing to be last.  Mark 9:35  If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last.  If I want to be effective for the Lord, I must be willing to be last…the very last.  Secondly, my service to the Lord has NOTHING to do with me, but ALL do with Him.  To be successful in serving the Lord, it requires God’s grace.  It requires dying to myself.  It requires seeing life with an eternal perspective.  Matthew 6:19  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

 

Sadly, the last week, I stomped my feet.  I got floated off of my usual floor to the 8^th floor.  I have had some difficult days on this floor over the past several months.  Days where I left crying.  So when the charge nurse notified me I was being floated, I made my voice known.  I just didn’t want to have another day like I had last time.  I even threatened that I would go home.  But the Lord worked with me and reminded me that it’s NOT about me, and ALL about Him.  He directs my path.  I am blessed that I decided to follow Him.   

When I transferred to the 8^th floor, my first patient was a man named Joe who had a terminal disease.  He knew he was dying and he knew it wouldn’t be long.  He had made some choices in his life that cost him his health.  He started sobbing and telling me, “I just want to die.  If I am going to die, I just want to get it over with.”  He had nothing to live for.  He had nothing to look forward to. 

When he was crying, I told him the only thing I wanted him to think about today was how much Jesus thought of him and how much he loved him.  He sobbed even more.  That morning, I asked the Lord how I could serve Joe.  The Lord spoke to my heart, “Just serve him with love.”  So I did.  I brought him water.  I brought him food from the refrigerator.  I kept him informed.  I encouraged him.  I loved him.  I served him.  Never underestimate being last and serving others with the love of Jesus.  It just changes people.  By the end of the day, Joe was a new man.  The Lord had completely touched him.  He thanked me with a smile at the end of my shift for taking good care of him.  The love of God changes people.   

So with this experience, you would think the stomping of my feet would stop, right?  Well, it didn’t.  This week, staffing called me again and wanted to float me to the 8^th floor.  I protested and told them I didn’t want to go.  There was silence on the other end of the line, an awkward silence.  But the Lord caused me to remember.  Serving isn’t about me.  It’s all about Him.  It’s about being last.  So I died to myself and followed Him.      

There was this beautiful young woman lying in her bed deathly ill.  Grace had quit her job over the past couple of years because she had some many emotional and psychological problems that she couldn’t work.  She had three kids.  She was alone and unloved.  All day, I served her with the love of Jesus.  I brought her a warm towel for her forehead.  I brought her a basin when she got sick to her stomach.  I rubbed her back when she was nauseous.  I brought her medicine.  I shared with her how Jesus had changed my life and how much he loved her and wanted to change hers. 

Then she told me…the real reason for her pain and suffering.  Grace had attempted suicide when she was 15 years old right after she had had an abortion.  She had gotten pregnant and she was forced to have an abortion and kill her baby.  I just wanted to cry for her.  I could see the weight of guilt she carried around for almost 20 years.  It was a day I was very thankful to be last and serve Jesus with all my heart.  I got the privilege of telling Grace that any time she wanted to come to Jesus, He would forgive and restore her.  He would take that weight of sin off of her and remove her guilt as if it had never happened.  He could heal her body and heal her mind.  I just wanted her to know that Jesus still loved her.  Tears welled up in her eyes when I told her she could be free.  Jesus was her answer.   

Friends, it’s a beautiful thing to be last.  It’s a beautiful thing to serve Jesus with a His compassion.  It’s a joy to die to myself and serve Him.  I wonder why I don’t do it more often.  I wonder why I come back time and time again wanting to serve myself when Jesus has proved to me what it’s like to be last and a servant of all.  Friends, let’s come over that finish line last.  The world won’t understand it.  But if we are willing to be last, it’s then and only then, we will be first.   

Below is a song by Lincoln Brewster that has ministered to me in this time of growth with the Lord.  It’s called “The Power of His Name”  Below are some of the words to this song. 

Jesus Your name

Is a shelter for the hurting
and Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need

And I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world that's broken
To be Your hands and feet
And I will give
With the life that I've been given
And go beyond religion
To see this world be changed
By the power of Your name

***All names have been changed to protect identity.   

A Closer Look at the Vine

 

Ezekial 17:8  It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, [And] become a majestic vine."

I have to say, I come from a family of “green thumbs.”   You know those people who can plant absolutely anything and it grows beautifully?  Well, that’s my family.  They grow flourishing vegetable gardens, grape vineyards, apple orchards, and colorful, flowing flower gardens that would put the photos in gardening magazines to shame.  And then, well…there’s me.  I have what you would call a “brown thumb.”  Anything I plant usually wilts and dies within days.  I have even managed to kill a cactus, which the experts say is nearly impossible. 

My “green thumb” dad was out to visit me recently.  While looking at my pathetic vine that was mostly brown and leafless, he said something very encouraging, “I think we can save this one.  Just a little Miracle Grow and some water and I think it will come back.”  Now I was amused because I haven’t been able to keep anything alive my entire life.  But I took his advice and gave it a good shot of Miracle grow and lots of water. 

 

This week, I glanced at my vine and to my surprise, I saw a new vine growth coming up the side of my pillar.  I got up closer to the vine and something caught my eye.  I saw these three pronged “hands” that were strategically placed every few inches up the vine.  When I grabbed on to the vine to pull it, these tough little “hands” were holding it firmly on my pillar.  “Ha,” I thought, “Lord, you really are amazing to have designed this vine so perfectly.”  As I stared at this miracle branch that I thought would never have grown under my tender care, the Lord caused me to hear His voice.  It was just His still, small voice in my heart.  He said, “Your life isn’t your own, Stacy.  You aren’t in control of it.   If you took a closer look, you would see my Hand in your life at all times.  I uphold you and guide you with My Hand as you allow Me.”  Isaiah 41:10  Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 

This special moment with the Lord in my little “garden” really changed my outlook for the week.  I started watching for His righteous Hand in my life as the week went by.   

I had worked Friday and Saturday this weekend.  On Sunday morning, I called to the hospital to see if they needed me.  I was happy when they said they didn’t.  But I knew I had a mission to get my hours in to renew my license in April.  So I called the other hospital to see if I could work there.   I said to the Lord, “I’d love to stay home and if it’s your will, let it be.  But if not, use me today and open doors for me.  Prepare the hearts of those you want me to share with.”  And of course, the other hospital was thrilled that I wanted to work and off to work I went.   

One of my patients was a woman who came in for a suicide attempt.  I started praying for her as I got report on her.  When I got into her room, I could see she was down and sad.  She had no eye contact with me and she was miserable.  Then I asked her, “What’s troubling you, Sarah?”  She immediately turned and looked at me and her heart spilled out like lava from an erupting volcano.  Sarah shared with me that her brother had just gone to prison for life, her boyfriend was cheating on her, her family was all messed up and she was really struggling because no one loved her and she was all alone.  And worse yet, she thought God must be mad at her because she tried to kill herself.  “On the contrary,” I said.  He is compassionate towards you and loves you more than you can imagine.  Not only that, He is calling you by name and wants to be your Lord and your Savior.  If you give your life to Him, everything will change for you.”  She cried in her misery unsure if she should surrender all to Him.  My heart melted like wax for her knowing how hard it is to break away from dysfunction.  I had known the kind of pain and loneliness she was feeling.   But those days had long past as the Lord has restored my heart completely.    

At the end of my shift, Sarah said to me, “I have been thinking about what you said.  I see your happiness and joy and I want to be happy too.  I decided tonight I am going to pray and invite Jesus into my life.”  God had touched her heart and I knew His great love had changed her.

I shared the gospel with this beautiful woman that God so dearly loved.  I prayed with her as she accepted forgiveness and her new life in Jesus Christ. 

As the tears streamed down her cheeks, I thought how wonderful the Hands of my Savior really are.  These beautiful Hands took the nails for me and for Sarah.  And when I took a closer look, I saw His Mighty Hand guiding me and holding me up, and giving me the strength and courage tell people Jesus is their answer.  There really is something special about these Hands.   

My prayer for you is that you take a closer look at your life.  May you see clearly those Hands guiding you and holding you up.  I pray we all come to know that we have been purchased at a price and our lives are not our own.  Nothing happens by chance.  He truly is in control and upholds us and guides us at all times with His mighty Right Hand.  And these Hands that took the nails…make no mistake about it…These are special Hands. 

**All names have been changed to protect identity. 

 

PS  My daughter excitedly came in the house tonight to show me the first flower I ever kept alive in my life!  A picture of God's grace...

 

 

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever."

 

Who do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:15  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?

Years ago, there was a famous plastic surgeon, Dr. Maxwell Maltz.  He spent his life changing “ugly” faces into “beautiful” ones.  He went on to write a best-selling book on the amazing personality changes that took place after these life-changing surgeries. 

Years after writing this best-selling book, Dr. Maltz learned the real truth.  That although these people’s faces changed, their hearts did not.  He would change their appearance so much that they would not even be recognized by their own families.  But he witnessed patient after patient complaining and insisting that their appearance had not changed at all.  You see, these people still looked in the mirror and saw the same “ugly” face they paid thousands to change.  Although their facial appearances changed drastically, the same distorted image they had of themselves continued to appear in the mirror. 

 

 

I sat quietly in the bible study as the Lord ministered to my heart.  I thought of this doctor’s experience and recognized the insanity of it all.  After all, that doctor had completely changed these people’s faces, but they just didn’t see it.  And then it became personal to me.  Was I one of these?  You see, I had gone my entire childhood feeling like a fat ugly duckling with crook teeth and a crooked smile.  I had inherited my jutting jawline and crowded teeth from my mom’s side of the family.  It bothered me so much and made me so insecure, that in 2000 I had my jaw broke during surgery to rearrange by jaw and make my teeth straight.  It really did change my appearance.  But to my amazement, even to this day, though many people don’t recognize me, I still see myself as that fat ugly duckling with the crooked smile. 

The Lord truly opened my eyes during this study.  I had never realized that I still saw this distorted image of myself.  I had to ask myself one very important question just like Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15  “But who do you say I am?”   How does Jesus see me?  What is His image of me?  When I asked this question the Lord answered me in a mighty way.

 The High and Lofty One says…

I am His Beloved.  (Colossians 3:12)

I am His Child.  (Romans 8:16)

I am a disciple of the King (John 8:31)

I am able to approach His throne.  (Hebrews 4:16)

I am accepted by the King (Ephesians 1:6)

I am a friend of the King.  (Proverbs 18:24)

I am royalty. (1Peter 2:9)

I am chosen by Him.  (2Th2:13)

I am complete in Him.  (Col 2:10)

I am hidden in Him.  (Psalm 32:7)

I am His workmanship.  (Ephesians 2:10)

I am established in Him.  (Romans 1:11)

I am anointed by Him. (2Cr 1:21)

I am buried with Him.  (Romans 6:4)

I am baptized in Him. (Romans 6:4)

I have been risen with Him.  (Col 2:12)

I am a new creation in Him.  (2Cr 5:17)

I am made alive by Him.  (Ephesians 2:5)

I am adopted by Him.  (Romans 8:15)

I am never going to be separated from Him.  (Romans 8:39)

I am sanctified by Him. (1Th 5:23)

I am justified by Him. (Acts 13:39)

I am designed by Him.  (Jer. 1:50

And the list goes on and on.     So when I look in the mirror and see that old reflection of the ugly duckling from long ago, I praise God that Jesus shines His light of truth on my distorted image.  It’s Jesus who identifies who I am.  My perceived image is not the same as His.  Everything I do, say and my total existence is hinged on who Jesus says I am…in Him.  And that, my friends, is all that matters.  Because God’s word says I am not who I was and I will never be the same again.  And from this day forward, I praise God for the woman I see in the mirror because my identity is hidden in what Jesus did for me on the cross and He is my true reflection! 

He Really is Something Special!

Are they serious?  Do they really pay for me for this?  Some days I just can’t believe I get paid to be a nurse.  I have these awesome opportunities to be invited into people’s lives for a short period of time getting a glimpse of their heart, their families, and oftentimes the pain of life’s unmet expectations. 

So you can imagine what a treat it was when I met, Cecilia, an 87 year old woman.  As I got her medications ready to give to her, she shared she had just celebrated her 14^th wedding anniversary and her husband was healing at a nursing home with a fractured bone just like her.  She must have seen me counting in my head as she said 14 years of marriage.  Before I could ask her the story, a river of words flowed from her mouth.  “We’ve known each other since we were four years old,” she said.  My eyes lit up because she now had my undivided attention.  I said, “Oh this is going to be good.”  She went on, “When we graduated high school, he asked me to marry him.  But I said, ‘no.’” She explained that he went on to go into the service and when he returned, he asked to marry her again.  This time, she said yes.  “But there was a problem,” she said.  He wanted her to go and live with his mom.  She laughed when she told me.  I smiled trying to imagine living with my mother in law (whom I love dearly).  “So I said no again,” she said.  “And I moved to Hollywood!”  Now this story was getting better and better as she spoke.  “Then, we both got married to other people…”  Years passed by, and both of their spouses passed away.  “It was a sad time for both of us.  But then he found me, sent me a card, and the rest is history.”  She giggled like a woman in love as she remembered her love story.  I knew she wanted to tell me.  I could see she enjoyed it.  I loved every minute of it, too.  She shared her wedding details.  Both of their mothers were in the same nursing home.  They really wanted them to be at the wedding but they were unable to travel.  “So they said we could have it at the convalescent center.  We had a full house!  All the people that were in the convalescent home showed up and all of our friends came too!” 

Wow, what a beautiful story, I thought.  Then she looked at me and tears welled up in her eyes, “Yes, he really is something special.”  It stopped me in my tracks.  I saw the love she had for this man she had known since she was four years old.  After all these years, she still loved him and he was still special to her. 

Days went by and I still smiled when I thought of what Cecilia shared with me.  Just a couple days later, I was feeling down in the dumps.  Have you ever felt like that?  I just felt sad, stressed, depressed and all I wanted to do was stay home from work.  I was praying that they didn’t need me at work so I could just stay home and feel sorry for myself.  God had other plans, of course.  So I got up and went to work.  When I was in the car with my husband, I shared with him how I was feeling.  He said, “You know, you can ask Jesus to fill you with joy and He will.  You just have to ask.”  I had no idea how this would change the course of my day.  On my way into work, I said a short prayer to the Lord and asked for His joy.  Immediately He answered and I found myself praising God all day at work.  I even found myself thanking God for my awesome husband.  I said, “Yes, Lord, he really is something special.”  I smiled as I walked around in the joy of the Lord.  My prayer for that day was that I would not focus on myself, but I would focus on God’s call on my life and that I would be about His business and all that He wanted me to accomplish in His name. 

I took care of a woman that day that had gotten into trouble with the law.  She tried jumping off of a fence and she fell and broke her leg and her arm.  When this happened, she said she was crying out to God because she couldn’t get up and the law enforcement was dragging her in the dirt.  My heart went out to her.  Then she said, “I get frustrated sometimes because I realize I can’t accomplish what I want in my life by myself.  I should be able to do this by myself without God, right?”  Mark 10:21  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  I love this scripture.  Jesus sees his need and He loves him.  This is what I felt for her.  I loved her.  I shared with her that God is not looking for people who can do it by themselves.  He is looking for those who are completely humble and know they can’t do anything outside of Him.  It’s then and only then that He sets us free and saves us.  She said quietly at her bed, “I’d like that.”  So she sat up in her bed and I prayed with her as she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. 

What a remarkable Jesus we have.  As I walked away from this divine appointment, I saw the Lord do a total 180.  What I beautiful end to a day I wasn’t even wanting to start!  I went from being depressed and sad to being used by God in the way that He has called me to be used. And this woman went from being dead to being ALIVE FOREVERMORE!  He did it all and I see that my Jesus really is something special! 

**All names have been changed to protect identity