When Evan Heard From God

A long time ago (when I used to consider myself a blogger) I wrote about one goose-bumpy, Jehovah Shammah (God is there) moment that happened when our boys were tiny. *click the link to read it* Our family has many of these moments, and I love to share them. The world knows that God is big...but our testimonies are often how others learn to understand how much He cares about little ol' us.

Today's Jehovah Shammah moment once again involves my son, Evan. He is fifteen now, and I think he could use this reminder (and a warm, fuzzy feeling) today.

Years ago, I sent the boys to their rooms to spend time "alone with God". I wanted to encourage them to talk to God and set aside special time in their days to meditate on His word and His works.
Evan came out of his room and announced, "God told me to take my Bible when we run our errands today. He wants me to read it to people in the world."

Evan was an emotional little boy and prone to telling "stories". My eyebrow raised at this proclamation of hearing God's voice, so I told him that he could take his Bible - but he should probably only read it to someone if they ASKED him to read it to them. He picked out a special passage and was ready for the occasion.

That precious little blonde-haired angel carried his Bible to the bank, through Aldi, and through almost all the aisles in Walmart until he looked at me, discouraged.
"Mom, NOBODY has asked me to read my Bible to them."
I didn't want his desire to go unanswered, but I also knew if God had REALLY told him to bring his Bible, that he would get a chance to read it. So I asked him if he had prayed for God to bring the right person to him, someone who really needed to hear. Right there, in aisle five, my sweet first-grader prayed. His tiny, high voice humbly asked God for help.

We were just about done shopping, so it wasn't long before we headed to the cash register. When it was our turn to check out, the cashier looked up and noticed Evan...
Cashier: "Whatcha got there?"
Evan: *beaming* "My Bible. Would you like me to read you something?"
Cashier: *glances my way* "Why sure."

In a clear voice, he read about the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5...and the cashier's eyes filled with tears.

Cashier: "Thank you. I really needed to hear those words today. That means a lot."
Evan: "You're welcome! I KNEW someone needed me to read my Bible!"
Cashier: "Well, thanks so much for bringing it."

Jehovah Shammah. God answers the prayers of children...his children.
(That means you too.)
When we seek, we find.
Lord, help us to look at you today, to see your glory and give you praise, to ask for help, and to see the opportunities you want to provide. We could all use some extra warm-fuzzy moments that focus on you.
Amen.

Becky

Rebuilding Our Shattered Marriage

My marriage was a solid, beautiful, glass vase that wasn't strong enough to survive hitting a concrete floor. (Imagine that.)
I often treated my husband, Clay, as if he had picked up the vase and thrown it at the ground; but in reality, we gradually nudged that vase closer and closer to the edge of the counter until one day when we were in the throws of making excuses for our poor behavior, we threw our hands out and our marriage sailed through the air and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces on the hard surface below.

It has been a long process to pick up all the pieces and glue them back together. It has taken years of reaching into the brokenness. Each time we put out our hand to pick up a sliver, we knew that we would most likely get wounded. We were often tentative. Shards dug deep. We ended up bloody. It hurt, and yet we kept reaching toward wholeness. We could see something beautiful forming. The Holy Spirit was the glue holding us together. We trusted that the sacrifice was going to be worth it.

A few months ago, this analogy of the vase came to me. Vividly.
The truth of it resonated deep within me. It was a gift from God. This mental picture changed me and exponentially sped up our healing process.
After this revelation, each time I wanted to be mad at Clay, each time I wanted to be a martyr because I hurt so badly, I began to stop and TRULY look at him. I revisited the vase and saw Clay's bloody hands. I saw him still reaching into the broken glass at great cost to himself. I saw love...even though I may not have FELT it. Clay was still choosing US, and God's supernatural grace began filling our home.

We wanted to like each other again, but had no idea how to get there. Walls were up. We could not find victory on our own. We started praying that God's Holy Spirit would fill us, and HIS will would be done. In each of us. Through our marriage. For HIS glory.
Once we truly BELIEVED that prayer, God was able to move.

It's only been a few months, but I wanted to share: by the grace of God, our marriage has been healed. Life is still challenging. We are still human. Life is still messy, but we are ONE.
Team players. Friends. Lovers.
We have been undone. We were brought to our knees, and I am here praising God for all of the hard because we learned so very much. For this, I am truly thankful.

Dear brother or sister, know that prayer is our superpower. It's YOUR superpower.
When we pray that God gets glory through our lives, that HIS will (not our will) is done, our lives change. God is so immensely faithful.
And THEN, we get to tell others about the journey.
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise.
-Becky

P.S. I just had Clay read this and he said, "If you didn't know our story, you'd think I had an affair." I want to clarify that he did NOT indeed have an affair. Click here to read the story of our decline. On that note, know that God can even heal the type of shattering that comes from that kind of unfaithfulness - if we seek His face.