Dear Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Our Father who loves us no matter what and loves that person over there, no matter what are some of the things we need to remember.
We are all broken but not all of us feel broken when we
realize God found us and loved us first. I have friends who have a distinct
point in time where they can say – God loves me. At gunpoint, one was held in a
military hospital and knew God saved her. My mother heard Him tell her to go to
church, so she is and she’s happier for it. A cousin saw Jesus while in jail
and believes.
About 4 years ago, a fellow homeschool mom came to me and
asked me to lunch. She’s one of my favorite people so of course, I said yes.
Over lunch, she explained that God had put me in her heart to talk to me and
told me about the gospel. She went on to tell me how God stepped into her life
and eventually her husband’s. I had been to church before. Sometimes it was
with a friend who didn’t want to go by herself, and it was a good excuse to get
out of school for a special service. I went to a summer camp (I think it was
before they called it VBS) and was saved when I was 11 or 12 years old, but I
had no idea what it meant to be saved and didn’t continue to go to church. I
went home from my lunch with my friend and prayed to Jesus to send the Holy
Spirit to me and dwell in me forever. I went to church with her that Sunday and
cried because I knew, God loved me. Hopefully, I didn’t embarrass her or her
family too much.
The next week at our homeschool co-op, I pulled her aside
because I had remembered being woken up by hearing my name a few weeks before
our lunch. Several times. she opened her Bible and showed me 1 Samuel 3. Go
ahead and read it, I’ll wait. My jaw kept dropping as I read the passage and I
knew the same thing happened to me. Whenever I think I hear someone calling me,
I will always respond, “I am here, Lord.”
I often wonder how the Israelites, walking through the
desert for 40 years, ever stopped believing in God. They followed a plume of
smoke during the day and a plume of fire every night for 40 years. How could they
forget that? God provided food and water when they needed it for 40 years. How
do you forget something like that? But then I wonder if I imagined everything I
mentioned above (Not what happened to others but what happened to me.)
Does that make me a bad Christian? Am I listed in the Book
of Life? I keep studying and am trying to discern the voice of God. I’m hoping
my writings will lead you to figure that out also.
