Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
A Visit From God
You talk about God. You read about God. You pray to God. You think you know God. But what a surprise to get a visit from God!
Near Christmastime, I had come home and just gotten dinner on the table for my brood. (It's quite a chore to work a 10 hour day and then cook a full meal for husband and koddos...I was quite worn out.) Josh went to the store to buy some more milk and came home just as dinner hit the table. He called me to the front room and pointed outside..."There's a girl sitting out there in the cold and snow...I'm not sure what to do."
Sure enough, outside was a young woman in front of our neighbor Steve's house. She was hunched over rubbing her hands. I asked Josh to get the kiddos going on dinner and I'd see what was going on.
I walked out to the young woman and asked if she'd like to come inside. She explained her ride was on the way and she'd be okay. At this point, it started to snow and I insisted she come inside to keep warm. I wouldn't take "No" for an answer as we were just the next house over.
As we stepped inside, I asked if she would like some supper or a drink and she declined. I invited to sit on the couch and prepared myself to listen.
I asked a few leading questions..."What were you doing outside in the cold with 2 baskets of clothes? Did your car break down while doing laundry? Were you out there long...it sure is cold?" I waited as she answered the questions, sidestepping what had really happened.
I nodded knowingly, expecting there was more to the story. She suddenly started to cry, breaking into a sob as she tried to explain through gasps what she was going through and the pain she was feeling. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry while I rubbed her back and prayed over her. We sat like this, her crying, me holding and praying for her, for 15 or so minutes.
She looked up and said to me, "I know you're praying for me because I feel God here. I feel his love through you and I like it." All I could do was nod.
When she left, she said to me, "I love you and I know God is with you in this place and with me as I leave. I don't know your name, but I know you are love."
Now, you might say, "Well, that wasn't God that came to visit, just some stranger. And you let a stranger into the house with 4 kiddos in your care!"
But let me give you some background...Around the time that that this happened, Josh and I had just accepted CeKariya & London to our little family. Jamion and CJ were acting out because they were having trouble adjusting to their siblings joining the family. CeKariya was being shyly stubborn and spent every two or three nights just screaming and crying. London wasn't sleeping well due to his sister. On top of this, two of the kiddos were sick and Josh and I were starting to catch it. I was stressed at my job and weary of the lack of flexibility. Josh and I were straying from each other...little things that never bothered us before were causing us to fight and bringing tension to our marriage. We were also straying from God and church just seemed to be another commitment that was taking away from what little down time we were afforded.
We needed God. We needed to talk to God. we needed to read about God. We needed to pray to God. We needed to know God again. God knew just what to do. He put the young woman into our lives because He knew we would pray for her and in praying for her, we would come together and bring ourselves before him.
A visit from God is just what our family needed.
Near Christmastime, I had come home and just gotten dinner on the table for my brood. (It's quite a chore to work a 10 hour day and then cook a full meal for husband and koddos...I was quite worn out.) Josh went to the store to buy some more milk and came home just as dinner hit the table. He called me to the front room and pointed outside..."There's a girl sitting out there in the cold and snow...I'm not sure what to do."
Sure enough, outside was a young woman in front of our neighbor Steve's house. She was hunched over rubbing her hands. I asked Josh to get the kiddos going on dinner and I'd see what was going on.
I walked out to the young woman and asked if she'd like to come inside. She explained her ride was on the way and she'd be okay. At this point, it started to snow and I insisted she come inside to keep warm. I wouldn't take "No" for an answer as we were just the next house over.
As we stepped inside, I asked if she would like some supper or a drink and she declined. I invited to sit on the couch and prepared myself to listen.
I asked a few leading questions..."What were you doing outside in the cold with 2 baskets of clothes? Did your car break down while doing laundry? Were you out there long...it sure is cold?" I waited as she answered the questions, sidestepping what had really happened.
I nodded knowingly, expecting there was more to the story. She suddenly started to cry, breaking into a sob as she tried to explain through gasps what she was going through and the pain she was feeling. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry while I rubbed her back and prayed over her. We sat like this, her crying, me holding and praying for her, for 15 or so minutes.
She looked up and said to me, "I know you're praying for me because I feel God here. I feel his love through you and I like it." All I could do was nod.
When she left, she said to me, "I love you and I know God is with you in this place and with me as I leave. I don't know your name, but I know you are love."
Now, you might say, "Well, that wasn't God that came to visit, just some stranger. And you let a stranger into the house with 4 kiddos in your care!"
But let me give you some background...Around the time that that this happened, Josh and I had just accepted CeKariya & London to our little family. Jamion and CJ were acting out because they were having trouble adjusting to their siblings joining the family. CeKariya was being shyly stubborn and spent every two or three nights just screaming and crying. London wasn't sleeping well due to his sister. On top of this, two of the kiddos were sick and Josh and I were starting to catch it. I was stressed at my job and weary of the lack of flexibility. Josh and I were straying from each other...little things that never bothered us before were causing us to fight and bringing tension to our marriage. We were also straying from God and church just seemed to be another commitment that was taking away from what little down time we were afforded.
We needed God. We needed to talk to God. we needed to read about God. We needed to pray to God. We needed to know God again. God knew just what to do. He put the young woman into our lives because He knew we would pray for her and in praying for her, we would come together and bring ourselves before him.
A visit from God is just what our family needed.
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