"Seeing"–a Miracle

Last night, I was blessed to be able to see & hear from missionary friends who are visiting the States to share their ministry! I was so inspired by one of their stories that I wanted to share it here in the hopes that you too will be inspired to see how BIG God is, and how he pulls out all stops when He wants to show His power. Okay, so enough pre-story, here is the meat of it! Alright, so Doug & Roberta Moore, live with the thought “There will never be enough time, money, staff, etc. So we just have to do what we can with what we have & the Lord will provide more when we need it.” (So humbling & inspiring.) One night, visiting a small Romanian church, a lady got up to share a scripture with the church (this is a normal part of the service where attenders are able to share a song or scripture or thought to the congregation, without any notice)…the older lady borrowed her friend’s glasses, read the scripture, sat back down & gave back the glasses. Roberta sees this & happens to have a donated pair of glasses in her purse! She passed the pair down to the lady & by God’s grace, it matched the lady’s vision needs! Of course after the service, Roberta was surrounded by people asking if they had a pair for them too! She & Doug immediately “saw” the need for more glasses & went about collecting donations. They setup a day at this church when people could come & find glasses from the almost 300 that were donated. Doug & Roberta know nothing about prescriptions, so for all the people that came, they simply handed them pair after pair of glasses, asking “does this help? how about this one?” until they found a pair that worked for them! At the end of the day, ALL the people who had stopped by had left with glasses! All that was left were two pairs of glasses & a bag of “spare parts.” Doug & Roberta praised God that all those people had been blessed with sight & that God has so miraculously provided it to ALL the people! They began packing up when suddenly, the front door opened & two more ladies walked in looking for glasses. Doug said “well, we only have two pairs left” but the ladies wanted to try. They put the first pair on one of the ladies, and it amazingly was just the right prescription!! To the second lady, they said…”I’m sorry, but this second pair only has one lens,” and after trying it on, even the one lens didn’t seem to help. They felt terrible to see this lady walk away, the only one without glasses! Then they remembered the bag of spare parts. They called the woman back and after some crafty work & piecing together, they were able to make a pair of glasses that not only fit, but helped her see!! PRAISE GOD! Again, Doug & Roberta were amazed that God was able to help ALL the people & have just a little left over. Again, as they were packing up, the door opened. This time, a man walked through, apologizing for being late, but that he couldn’t come sooner because of work. They told him “I’m sorry, the only pair we have left is this pair with only one lens!” To that, he responded —-“THAT’S OKAY, I ONLY HAVE ONE EYE!”—-God is amazing, not only did he provide for all the people, but he provided WELL for them, knowing just what prescriptions to be brought in to Doug & Roberta, for the exact people who would walk through that church door. If you don’t believe in this God, it’s sad, because of how much Joy he brings & how powerful He is. This is simply breathtaking….don’t you want to love this God?

One More Day

Life, as strange & bitter as it is, never ceases to surprise me with new & harsh feelings. The cruel end of world, life & death, beginnings & the end….they shock & rattle the depths of my soul. Searching for the light that guides me, the peace that only Christ can provide, the joy that is my hope, the comfort that I can only sometimes feel….God is here, in a new perspective. While I grieve, and cry, yearn & ache…..He watches me. The Lord is my hope; He is my strength when I have none. I am confident & comforted in knowing that when I do not understand the emotions of my heart or the ache of my heart, or how I am supposed to go on, He knows the depth of my soul. Christ has met me there; He is there right now, in my future, in our future….. Pain and life consume every waking movement, each moment that I am here. Knowing that there is a future for me, He is the one who gives purpose, who calls us each to our own end. Though the pain is present, the hope is healing. I’m trying not to be overrun by the grief, but encouraged to live my life in a new way, a better way, a more vibrant way….a way that Christ would ask from me. A life that will give, love, share, encourage, rejoice & LIVE to the fullest extent of Christ’s love as humanly possible.

Hope….and courage.

So today I visited an old (literally old, as in age) friend in the hospital. His whole being is an encouragement to each person that he knows. It is this kind of person that I hope to be someday…but seeing him in the hospital shook me back to the memories of my own grandfather in the hospital. Some of you didn’t know me at that time, but it was a difficult time for me & my family. It was a deep time of uncertainty & disbelief. The quietness of the hospital room, being surrounded by a presence of peace & grace, yet shrouded with fear and pain. In the last few hours that I spent with my grandpa, I sang him some old hymns & read some scriptures…he was unresponsive for two weeks, yet when you held his hand he would squeeze so tight that you knew he understood my intentions were to show my love for him. Today, as I visited my friend, we prayed & he squeezed my hand the way my grandpa did…it brought tears out of my eyes, silently releasing the longing I still have to see my grandpa again. As I remember what God has told us & look back on how I have seen Him work, I know that through this, God IS STILL WITH US. Last night, I watched Martian Child, and the father says to the little boy who has been hurt, abused, abandoned & left behind, “I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER, ever….leave you.” As the child embraces the man who he knows truly loves him more than anything, you get a sense that this is how God reaches out & comforts us amidst our pain. In Romans 8:28 it says “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.” And Romans 8:38 says “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Think on these things & be comforted knowing that though men & women die, leave us, move away or forget us, God will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER….leave us.