Just how far will The Lord go to get us connected with the right people, at the right time? What will He do, what will He throw into your path to ensure you are right where He wants you?
I can tell you - He will do whatever it takes.
He let me go for 14 years into the world, so when I came back to Him, I would understand the difference between religion and relationship.
He broke my heart 50 times or more before I found Dave because I wouldn't have appreciated him if I hadn't dated those other guys.
He broke my heart 1000 times more so I would understand the family experience of living out love is so much better than being right all the time.
He took me out of my very successful corporate job to reveal to me the beauty of having an eternal impact on 3 people souls is better than millions in the bank.
He let my daughter's eye swell so we would take her in and find the malignant tumor growing behind her eye.
I could go on and on. God allows things into our lives, things we consider difficult and painful, to manifest His presence. He gives us another chance, every day to breath His air and experience life the way it was meant to be lived, not the sham we often make it out to be. He takes awful things and when we let Him, turns them into exquisite art. That involves a life lived with other people. I wouldn't know just how special a God He is and how much He wants for me unless I let people into my heart. And He lets me be His Hands and Feet to others, because I (as a real good friend always tells me) have a particularly unique perspective on suffering.
I got another example this week of just how far He will go to make sure the right people are in your life when you need them. A friend of mine from church messaged me on FB to tell me about her neighbor, whose college age son had just been diagnosed with a malignant tumor behind his left eye last week. After being able to talk with the mother - it sounds VERY familiar, so I hope and pray I will be able to be a lifeline to this woman and her family, who have already been through so much. There is nothing like having a hand to hold when it belongs to someone who knows exactly what you are going through.
But the crazy thing is - I would have never been connected with this woman unless The Lord had broken her fax machine. In the process of trying to communicate with medical professionals, she needed to fax his information, but on Tuesday of this week, she couldn't. So, she was forced to walk down to a neighbor's house (my friend) and ask. Normally very private people, she might have shared their situation eventually, but after it had settled down. Instead, The Lord lined up a neighbor who knew someone whose child had already walked the path her son was going to have to walk. And who is not only surviving, but thriving.
Is that not just the most amazing thing ever???
You might call it a coincidence that her fax machine broke, but I don't. I call that the Finger of The Lord pointing her in the right direction. I just don't think things happen randomly anymore, even if they don't always seem connected; I have no doubt, they are. What level of comfort I'm able to give her, she will pass on. She will eventually be able to pass on the blessing to others, through what she will experience over the next year or two. It is the circle of true, abundant life - that we do for others what Christ did for us.
It's heart-achingly beautiful. And I'm more than humbled to be a part of it.
Please pray for this family. The son will most certainly be on my next prayer updates on Tuesday, but there is so much that can happen for and to him in the next 4 days. His name is Cameron and his Mom's name is Valerie. They are no strangers to pain, so please pray for strength, wisdom and, most of all, peace in tangible forms.
And if you have any experiences on what God has done to show His love to you, please share them in the comments below! Would love to read it!
I can tell you - He will do whatever it takes.
He let me go for 14 years into the world, so when I came back to Him, I would understand the difference between religion and relationship.
He broke my heart 50 times or more before I found Dave because I wouldn't have appreciated him if I hadn't dated those other guys.
He broke my heart 1000 times more so I would understand the family experience of living out love is so much better than being right all the time.
He took me out of my very successful corporate job to reveal to me the beauty of having an eternal impact on 3 people souls is better than millions in the bank.
He let my daughter's eye swell so we would take her in and find the malignant tumor growing behind her eye.
I could go on and on. God allows things into our lives, things we consider difficult and painful, to manifest His presence. He gives us another chance, every day to breath His air and experience life the way it was meant to be lived, not the sham we often make it out to be. He takes awful things and when we let Him, turns them into exquisite art. That involves a life lived with other people. I wouldn't know just how special a God He is and how much He wants for me unless I let people into my heart. And He lets me be His Hands and Feet to others, because I (as a real good friend always tells me) have a particularly unique perspective on suffering.
I got another example this week of just how far He will go to make sure the right people are in your life when you need them. A friend of mine from church messaged me on FB to tell me about her neighbor, whose college age son had just been diagnosed with a malignant tumor behind his left eye last week. After being able to talk with the mother - it sounds VERY familiar, so I hope and pray I will be able to be a lifeline to this woman and her family, who have already been through so much. There is nothing like having a hand to hold when it belongs to someone who knows exactly what you are going through.
But the crazy thing is - I would have never been connected with this woman unless The Lord had broken her fax machine. In the process of trying to communicate with medical professionals, she needed to fax his information, but on Tuesday of this week, she couldn't. So, she was forced to walk down to a neighbor's house (my friend) and ask. Normally very private people, she might have shared their situation eventually, but after it had settled down. Instead, The Lord lined up a neighbor who knew someone whose child had already walked the path her son was going to have to walk. And who is not only surviving, but thriving.
Is that not just the most amazing thing ever???
You might call it a coincidence that her fax machine broke, but I don't. I call that the Finger of The Lord pointing her in the right direction. I just don't think things happen randomly anymore, even if they don't always seem connected; I have no doubt, they are. What level of comfort I'm able to give her, she will pass on. She will eventually be able to pass on the blessing to others, through what she will experience over the next year or two. It is the circle of true, abundant life - that we do for others what Christ did for us.
It's heart-achingly beautiful. And I'm more than humbled to be a part of it.
Please pray for this family. The son will most certainly be on my next prayer updates on Tuesday, but there is so much that can happen for and to him in the next 4 days. His name is Cameron and his Mom's name is Valerie. They are no strangers to pain, so please pray for strength, wisdom and, most of all, peace in tangible forms.
And if you have any experiences on what God has done to show His love to you, please share them in the comments below! Would love to read it!
1 comment:
Amazing. I saw this at work yet again this week. How generous He is.....
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