Yesterday I had a request for an autographed copy of my book from a lady that lives in my community, but whom I had never met. Which in of itself is not unusual, however, what transpired after her request is nothing short of the hand of God working in my life. This lady took the moment to pick up the phone and call me at work. She began by asking me about my book and the reasons I had written it. We then shared with each other our writing habits and she shared a story she had written--full of humor and truth.
She then began to tell me about her distant relationship with my mother that had in recent weeks became a call from God on her heart to visit with my mother, to pray with her even. I felt the click of knowledge in my mind that God had sent this woman as a special person along my mother's path. I told this sweet lady that and she confided that she had felt it also.
Out of the blue she told me she had bought a trunk full of diapers with the thought she might give them to someone in her church. It turned out that no one needed them, so she had joked that Sarah was in her nineties when she was blessed with a child. She knew that God did not love Sarah then more than He loved her now, so perhaps at seventy-one she was going to have a child!
She asked me if I had children. I smiled and said, "Yes, a 9-month old." She praised God because her diapers were for my baby. I laughed when she said, "I did not know when I bought those diapers that I bought them for your baby, but I did." They were the correct size.
I then felt a prod to share with her my desires for my writing career and my continuing desire to be at home with my children. Not knowing that the Lord had laid a similar desire on her heart twelve years before, I was going to be given a nugget of hope.
Her husband had been on partial disability and for four months she had felt a strong desire to quit work and stay with her husband, but money was tight, so she prayed for those four months. On a Monday morning as she traveled to work, God spoke two words to her, "Go Home!" She could still remember distinctly the sound of His voice. And she called her husband once she arrived at work at told him she would quit work. The Lord prepared the heart of her boss who prayed for her, understanding this journey was from our precious Father. Shortly after leaving her job just two days after the Lord spoke to her, her husband was put on full disability. The Lord took care of their financial need. Eleven years later, her husband died.
She was so thankful for that time in her life when they were together and my request sparked her memory and she prayed then and there for me. A prayer that I felt touched heaven. She stood in for me where my heart could not go that day. I was weary and tired, unsure and frustrated, a walking zombie until this woman prayed for me.
The Lord IS not finished.
I know this because as I dealt with family issues the following day, I had another phone call. Ms. Elaine, a lady I had met through work, called to tell me she had read my book and loved it. Many people can say this and I simply smile and accept their compliment knowing that no one would ever say they did not like it to my face. What really touched my heart and reaffirmed that my feet were planted where God needed me to be was when she said that many points brought out in the book had inspired her to action. What more could I ask, ACTION! And the plot continues until the final credits roll.....
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