Witnessing, Belief, Answers

This past month has been delightfully strange to say the least... this blog entry is 'my story' that I thought needed to be shared, because it is just that AWESOME... so to give fair warning... it may be a bit wordy and long... but... stories tend to be like that... so either grab a cuppa tea/coffee, prop your feet up for awhile and continue to read on... or... click off and go on your way... I totally understand if you bail here.

My story begins with my Orkin man coming to do my scheduled maintenance bug spraying.  We have lived in this house two years now... and as always... whenever we move into a new home, one of the first things I do is to call Orkin to begin regular bug spraying to keep our home bug free... I've used them for 20 years and am very pleased with their service.  Any hoo... I digress... my bug man "Stephen" is from Scotland, and has a very heavy brogue accent, making it difficult to understand him... therefore I have always been polite, but never encouraged conversation with him, only because I could not understand him, and didn't want to keep saying to him "I'm sorry I didn't quite get that".

On his first visit 2 years ago, we were discussing what had brought my husband Joe and I to this new home, and we chatted about our families.  He shared with me on that first visit that he had recently lost a child, but he didn't elaborate on the cause of his son's death, and I didn't ask, I felt if he wanted me to know more he would have shared his story with me then.  Fast forward to 4 weeks ago, when he came to do his regular spraying.  I recently had foot surgery and have been laid up since September 5th (2012), Stephen stopped to chat with me and ask about my surgery when he was finished with his spraying.  What made us begin this particular conversation... or rather "witnessing" session... I have no idea other than he asked about my surgery... which turned into an hour long conversation... that for the first time in 2 years, I totally understood every word he spoke in his Scottish brogue.

Our conversation turned into our personal faith and beliefs.  His story is AMAZING... it would take another very long blog to tell it all in detail... which would be totally worth the read... but... to be concise... basically this man is just like Job in the bible.  He has had misery after misery, he has lost everything, picked himself back up and restarted many times... all the while holding tight to his faith and a positive attitude.  Personally, I truly believe God put this man in my path on that particular day for a reason.  Stephen was not looking for pity... he was just sharing his story from questions I was asking him.  I was laying on the couch with my foot propped on pillows, Stephen stood across the room, and for an hour (which seemed like only moments) he poured out his personal story, and the story of his son's death... which led me to share my own story of my families heartache, and loss of my sister when I was just a 3 year old child.

Stephen (like Joe and I) met his first wife at the tender age of 13, they married young, had children... a daughter and a son... and life was good.  One day his wife decided she had married too young, had children too young, and had missed her youth.  She told him she wanted a divorce so she could go find and enjoy her youth again.  He was devastated and totally blindsided... he 'thought' they were a very happy family.  His wife told him he could take the children as long as she was allowed to keep all government money alloted for them.  She then became the town drunk and whore, while he began to rebuild his life.  Years later he met his current wife and they moved to the United States to begin their lives together in the land of promise.  They too had children... a daughter, and then girl/boy twins.

One night two years ago he received the phone call that his son had died in Scotland... he had drowned while taking a bath.  At this point I asked how old his son was... 11 was his answer... so without thinking... I ask him if he had fallen in the bathtub... he replied No... Stephen was told the boy had been sick with a cold, had taken cold meds and must have become dizzy from the meds and drowned... however... the autopsy revealed the child had not been sick, and there were no signs of any medications in his system. The next day a blizzard hit Scotland... 4 feet of snow made it impossible for him to get back to Scotland for his son's funeral.

As Stephen continued to share and witness with me about his son, he told me his son was a very Godly boy, and had remained behind in Scotland with his mother to try and save her from her drunken and whorish ways.  Stephen believes the boy committed suicide because he was unable to help his mother and could no longer tolerate, or be forced to live with her life style, as man after man came in and out of his home to bed his mother.  At this point I was completely silent and in tears... Stephen spoke all of this to me in a very calm and steady voice... like a blanket of sorrow that he alone would bear.  I shared my own story of my sister's death, and how much I wished I had known her... how I have always wondered if I had been a good big sister to her during her short life... would I have been a good big sister to her had she lived?  I shared with him that I have ALWAYS known she is, and always has been with me, and to this day I KNOW she still watches over me.  To digress a bit again... my Grandmother had a special gift of premonition, and spiritual awareness that she passed on to myself, my youngest daughter Lauren, and my cousin Nancy.  While we appreciate her gift, at times it is hard to explain to others and understand.  Either you believe or you don't believe us... we are ok with either... we don't ask, or expect everyone to understand or believe, we just share/witness to those who do.  We have all had visions in such detail about things we could never possibly know about, that when shared with other loved ones, and then told them about the details... they know we could never have just made this up.  To those who do believe, they find great comfort from what we share.

After Stephen left my house that day I started to get several prayer requests from loved ones, both friends and family, or I heard several things of concern that were on the hearts of my loved ones.  I never mentioned this witnessing with Stephen to anyone, only because as life does, things got busy and I honestly forgot about it... but... I did find myself often in deep prayer that week of Stephen's visit.

Fast forward again to the week after Stephen's visit.  Rarely do I ever include myself in my prayer requests.. but in times of great need of spiritual guidance I do ask for it, making sure to ask for clear answers that are so obvious I will know what God's plan is.  When most of us pray... we already have what we think the 'perfect' solution is in our minds, and we want/expect for those solutions to happen.  Each and every time I have found myself on my knees asking for answers, whatever they may be, I am always totally open to anything... believing that when I give it to God, I have to let it go... God ALWAYS gives me my answers and they have NEVER been anything I could have dreamt up in my wildest dreams... then I KNOW for sure that is what I am supposed to do, and it is amazing how perfect his answers are.  I truly blindly trust when this happens and I have never regretted it.

My personal prayer request occurred when I least expected it.  I had gone to the basement to fetch a soda out of the beverage refrigerator when I literally, and suddenly became overwhelmed with the need to get on my knees on the cold basement floor and just pray.  I had been praying for my concern for awhile... but it was more like a daily prayer of guidance vs the deep gut releasing request that occurred in the basement that night.  It was a Monday night at 10:30 p.m., Joe was out of town and I was all alone in the house.  Joe and I had not been able to attend church here for the past 6 months due to a terrible split of our church over the new pastor... and I still can't believe one man could completely destroy a congregation like he did.  At the time the split occurred, Joe and I were in the process of becoming members, and the split forced us to put our membership plans on hold.  At no time during this 6 months did we entertain the thought of just going to another church... this church was worth waiting for the resolution.  That night on my knees... all I was asking God was for guidance... were Joe and I doing the right thing... were we supposed to begin the search for a new church, or continue to just wait?  What did God want us to do?  After pouring my heart out to God, I continued on my knees to pray for some loved ones who are really going through a hard time, and how could I possibly help, or make a difference.  Out of no where... completely unexpectedly, and without her being on my mind... my sister appeared to me, and I instantly knew God had my ear, everything would be Ok, and a peace I can never come close to explaining came over me.

After my prayer session that night in the basement... I forgot about my soda and just went up to bed... waking up the next morning, going about my business, and never mentioning my experience from the night before to anyone.  And then... prayers began getting answered... in ways I could never have imagined.  Since the prayers for others are personal and private, I can't and won't share those prayers or answers... and at first, even I didn't realize what was happening... until... my own prayer request was answered 3 days later on Thursday afternoon.  Our church sends out a bulletin each Thursday before church on Sunday.  For that past 6 months I have been so upset about the circumstances at our church, that as soon as the bulletin arrives in our mailbox, it goes instantly into the trash without me even glancing at it.  On this particular Thursday Joe collected the mail (he never collects the mail, except for when I'm out of town)... as he went through the mail he handed me the bulletin not knowing I never read it anymore... and... as I was tossing it in the trash an insert fell out... as I picked up the insert to toss in the trash, something caught my eye causing me to actually read it.  It was written by the new Interim Pastor!!!!!  He was writing about how the problem Pastor had been given severance and was gone... and then he continued to write about how the church could now move forward, reunite, and heal.  I instantly fell again to my knees in prayer of Thanksgiving... and it was like connecting the dots to all of the other answered prayers that week, and how each of those answered prayers were every single thing I was requesting of God that night on the basement floor.

For the next two weeks random, and amazing things continued to happen... each one with such clarity that I knew God truly had had my ear that night... and because I truly let go of each and every concern on my heart that night as I gave them to God, I also knew without any doubt what God's plan was for me to do for each of my prayer requests... and thus began my witnessing of these events to others... including the night in the basement that I had not spoken about to anyone.  I did not plan, or set out to witness so much, or to so many people this past month... but each witnessing session (whether it was I doing the witnessing, or I was being witnessed to) was completely spontaneous, but so rewarding!

That Sunday I returned to church.  Every single word the Interim Pastor spoke during his sermon, and every single lyric to every song we sang resonated in my heart as if those words, and lyrics were meant only, and specially for me.  I quietly wept thru the entire service... which was an outdoor, by the lake service... the only outdoor/lakeside service our church holds each year, with a cookout after the service.  It felt like a movie version of my prayers... with my head wanting to scream this doesn't really happen in real life, while my heart was loudly praising... yes it does, when you pray, believe, and trust in the LORD.  

This story, and this journey all began the day Stephen witnessed his story with me, completely out of the blue, and completely trusting me with his faith.  The purpose of this particular blog entry is continue my witnessing that I feel God wants me to do, to reach as many people as possible who have their own deep prayer requests, and to help them believe prayers ARE answered.  When you experience the kind of AMAZING things I have witnessed this past month, it is impossible to keep it to yourself.  I feel VERY Blessed to have been chosen to not only have this spiritual experience, but to feel compelled to share it.  I continue to get prayer requests, and I continue to pray for them.... May God Bless you all!