Proverbs 31:20 - 21, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet”.
The Lord never ceases to amaze me. I stand in wonder of His love and mercy. Ephesians 3:20-21 reads, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen”. He certainly did for this couple.
The Blessing…continued from Day 4
Rob and Beth were up most of the night watching TV and sleeping very late every morning. As soon as they got up, they asked if I would hold baby Robbie while they went out and smoked a cigarette. (They shared a cigarette in the morning, the afternoon and a couple at night.) I didn’t say anything about their smoking at all because I didn’t feel the Lord wanted to touch that yet. Sometimes we can get so uppity in our convictions at times it can sound legalistic and turn people off. If they had tried to smoke in the house or around the baby I would have said something, but they never did. I just wanted to love them where they were at the moment. The Lord would deal with all that stuff in His time.
Holding Robbie in the morning was the highlight of their stay with us. I usually was having my quiet time with the Lord when they got up, so I had my praise music already playing. I prayed over him, pleading the Blood of Jesus over him and claiming him for the Kingdom of God. I talked to him about Jesus and it was always heart-melting to have him look straight in my eyes when I said the name of Jesus.
One morning, I was singing to him, along with the CD by Selah. The song was “Be Thou My Vision”. I had him laying down on my lap so we could see each other’s faces. As I was singing to him I started to tear up. He looked at me straight in the eyes and he started tearing up and his little lower lip pouted like he was going to cry. At that moment, I knew his little spirit connected. I lifted him up and hugged and rocked him. It was such a special moment. I will never forget the look on his little face. That child has been covered with prayer. Not just by me, but by so many at church. They fell in love with him too. They went to church with us on Sundays. The church fell in love with them.
The second week, their old car broke down beyond repair. They started getting stressed. “How would they get around. I need a car to go to a job”. So, Rob found one on Craig’s list that was right around the corner from where we lived. He went to look at it and we had a couple of men in the church who knew cars take a look at it. It was in good running condition.
The big question was, of course, “Where is the money going to come from?”. We certainly didn’t have it, nor did we think that they shouldn’t work for it. However, as Dave (my husband and the pastor of the church) was telling the congregation about the problem, a man stood up and said, “I feel we need to take up a collection to pay off the car. Immediately, one woman in her late 70s spoke up and said, “I pledge $500 and challenge someone to match it”. There was a couple who matched it immediately. Then they took up a collection and it totaled $1700.00. That paid for the car and then some.
We do not have a wealthy church. And, in more than twenty years of ministry, my husband has never seen anything like it. There was such an anointing in the church that morning it was palpable. Wow! To God be the Glory! I talked to the woman who first pledged $500 and she said she felt the Lord heavy all over her and knew she had to be obedient.
When we got home after the service, I called my daughter who lives in another state to share what the Lord had done. She said,”When we come for Christmas, we ought to throw them a Christmas Day wedding. Then they would get right with the Lord in their relationship”. Both Rob and Beth believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior, but, they still hadn’t committed to marriage. They loved each other and wanted to marry, but money was a big problem. “I think that is a great idea!” I said.
She took the idea to her church and asked them to pray about whether they felt led to contribute to the wedding. She told them if they didn’t think the Lord wanted them to, that she wouldn’t be upset at all. She really wanted it to be the Lord to tell them what, if anything, to give. They would get back to her after prayer.
They got back to her with a $500 commitment to give to the couple for their wedding. She was stunned. Another blessing.. Why would a church, hundreds of miles away, not knowing this couple, contribute that much money to help put a wedding together? If that isn’t the Lord, I don’t know what is. So, we started planning a Christmas Day wedding. My husband would perform the ceremony.
They needed to get marriage license, birth certificates, clothes, rings, etc. Nothing fancy, but nice. Rob formally asked Beth to marry him, and she said yes. Beth was so excited she couldn’t stop smiling. I hadn’t seen her smile that way since they got here. She was gitty.
God continually showed them how much He loved them.
This story continues on Day 6 with some of my personal struggles during their stay.
Blessings, Pat
Here is a list of the bloggers and their topics for your daily reading.
- Contributing to family income/2 better than 1
- The Fear of the Lord/ Satisfied by Love
- Using time wisely/BlessedBeyondMeasure
- Taking care of needy/ Shadow Wonder
- Using money wisely/Jennifer Sikora
- Beauty is Fleeting/Monique Zackery
- Keeping an eye on home/Just a Glimpse
- She can laugh at the days ahead/faith filled food for moms
- Clothed in strength and dignity/One thing I’ve Learned
- Taking care of others/ 2 savvy gals
- Being Creative/A Patchwork Mommy
- Bringing Variety to Family/ Karen Dawkins
- Extending your Hand to the Poor/ Women’s Fellowship House
- Organization/Teaching what is Good
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