On Wednesday, we went to another ministry called Heartline Ministries to hold a medical clinic for them. They have a women's center that teaches them about prenatal care, post partum care, family planning, birthcontrol, and a trade like sewing so the women can bring in some income for their families. This type of center is vital for the country of Haiti. This ministry also has an orphanage for boys & girls and they can have up to 20 kids. It was interesting to see how their orphanage was set up and ran--I'm sure it will give Three Angels some ideas to use at our orphanage.
We had told Heartline that we would be able to see about 70 patients so they handed out 200 tickets. We were able to see the 200 patients in about 6 hours with 3 providers--this was definitely God's doing and not our's. Just to put it in prospective on Monday we saw around 85 patients with 3 providers in 8 hours!
A family of 5 came in together to see the doctor's and they were tested for HIV because we knew that the mom was HIV positive. Unfortunately for this family, all of them tested positive--can you imagine finding out in one day that your entire family was HIV positive? Pray for this family, pray that they will be able to receive the treatment that they will need and pray that they would seek God for their hope during this most difficult time.
Blessings to all, Joslyn
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Back from Haiti
I've only been home from Haiti for 3 days, yet it feels like it was months since I was there. It is always so difficult to come back to the States after being in Haiti. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see my husband and kids, but I wish I could stay longer. There are so many problems in Haiti like the lack of clean water, food, infrastructure, jobs, education, etc. The list could continue on and on. There seems to be no way out for the Haitians but that is when you rely on the only thing that can solve these problems and that is God. With God, all things are possible. Many people ask, "How was your trip to Haiti?" It is often hard to answer that question because one, there are so many different God stories that I could share--I could talk for hours about my trip and two, it is so hard to put these experiences into words that would truly describe what takes place in your heart. But the reality is that most people barely have time to hear about one story let alone hours worth of stories. So my hope is to share with you over the course of several blog entries some of the God stories that occured while we were on our mission trip.
God has blessed me so much over the course of my life, yet I still find things to complain about. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it is only 600 miles off the coast of Florida. I have never seen or experienced "need" in its truest form until I traveled to Haiti last July. Our mission trips take us to the capital of Haiti which is Port Au Prince. As soon as you get outside of the airport, you see need immediately. Yet, I have not even seen the worst of the needs because I have not been to the countryside in Haiti. I cannot even begin to imagine how bad it is in the countryside because what I see in the capital city is horrible already. Yet, with all their needs, the Haitian people still find ways to smile, greet you with "bon swa (good afternoon)", and to laugh. It truly is amazing to see how they live yet they are joyful and happy. Joy and happiness do not come from the things that we have--it comes from having the love of Jesus in us, and this is so evident in Haiti.
The first God story that I am going to share with you is about a boy named Fon Fon. We were first introduced to Fon Fon as we got out of our vans at the Brother's Hospital. It was not the normal introduction. We first heard Fon Fon from the second story of the hospital screaming out. If you have ever lost someone close to you, you know the scream that I am talking about. After the scream, I knew that someone had just learned about someone close to them passing away. My heart just dropped to the ground listening to the sobs of a young boy that just lost his mother. Many of the people on our team were already hesitant and dare I say scared about being at the hospital and then to get out of the vans to hear a little boy screaming because his mom just died--many probably wanted to climb back in the vans and head back to the medical clinic where we were working at, but God had different plans in mind. Before continuing on about Fon Fon, I need to give you some backgroud information.
This hospital was a hospital for the dying and no one on our team had been there before so we really didn't know what to expect. All we knew was there were people that were terminally ill from Aids and TB at the hospital, and we were going there to essentially be the hands and feet of Jesus. We did not know what we would be doing at the hospital and many on the team were very uncomfortable. Many were praying the night before as to whether or not it was God's plan for them to go. In the end, all of our team went and all of us were blessed for having done so.
After arriving at the hospital, we were told that we wouldn't be doing much medical work with the patients. They wanted us to give the patients massages, shave their faces, and cut their fingernails and toenails. Due to some hesitation on our part, it took us a few minutes to get warmed up to the idea of massaging and shaving people with HIV and TB. Women patients were on the second floor and men patients were on the first floor. The rooms were community style rooms with around 20 beds in each room. As we entered the room with our gloves and masks on, the women began taking their hospital gowns off so that we could massage them. Their faces and smiles said everything that needed to be said--we were being the hands and feet of Jesus to these patients and they were absolutely thrilled. The power of touch is amazing. These people long to be touched just like you and I do and I was so glad that God had chosen me to be a part of this. We continued giving massages and we went into another room filled with more patients. There was a girl around 19 years old that looked more like 12 lying in bed. As a couple of people began massaging her, she started to seize. I joined them a few minutes later not knowing what had just occured. All I knew was that one of our teammates asked me to go get Pastor Kurt to pray over this girl because they thought she was about to die. Several of us stood around the young lady laying our hands on her while Pastor prayed. After the prayer, Pastor saw a Haitian standing behind all of us--he was the girl's father. We had him come up by his daughter's head and he began to pray over his daughter. Right there, in front of all us, he began to pray to our Lord while watching his daughter struggle to stay here on earth. Then the most wonderful thing occured, the father started singing and praising the Lord. This touched my heart in such a way--here is a man about to lose his daughter yet he is praising the Lord, our Lord. The girl did not die that day, she slept peacefully through the night. We know this because her father talked with one of our translators on the phone the next day. He wanted to let us know that she was still alive and that he was grateful for our presence. I don't know if this girl has passed away yet, however, I do know that God was pleased and honored.
Meanwhile, another of our team members was spending time with Fon Fon and learning about him and his family. He is 12 years old and had been living with his mother at the hospital for 4 months. He has 3 brothers and 1 sister all younger than him that are living in the poorest and most dangerous city in the western hemisphere called City Sole. Their father does not work and barely takes care of the children. Can you imagine what was going through this boy's mind--essentially he was going to be the caretaker for his brothers and sister while being a kid himself.
It was not a coincidence that his mother passed away just as we were getting out of the vans--this was a God-incident. God could've taken her home the day before or the day after but He chose that time because He knew that our team was going to be there and He was calling many of our teammembers to help this boy and his family out. So that is what happened--in a nutshell. There are several details that need to be worked out, but Fon Fon and his brothers and sister are going to be taken care of. The first order of business was to find them a place to live--somewhere away from City Sole. Rent is already covered for the first year ($1200 US dollars) and the place is near where our Haitian clinic manager lives. He and another of our translators are going to be checking in on the kids and making sure they are ok. The next things on the agenda are food, clothing, and schooling for these kids which are in the process. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!
God has blessed me so much over the course of my life, yet I still find things to complain about. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it is only 600 miles off the coast of Florida. I have never seen or experienced "need" in its truest form until I traveled to Haiti last July. Our mission trips take us to the capital of Haiti which is Port Au Prince. As soon as you get outside of the airport, you see need immediately. Yet, I have not even seen the worst of the needs because I have not been to the countryside in Haiti. I cannot even begin to imagine how bad it is in the countryside because what I see in the capital city is horrible already. Yet, with all their needs, the Haitian people still find ways to smile, greet you with "bon swa (good afternoon)", and to laugh. It truly is amazing to see how they live yet they are joyful and happy. Joy and happiness do not come from the things that we have--it comes from having the love of Jesus in us, and this is so evident in Haiti.
The first God story that I am going to share with you is about a boy named Fon Fon. We were first introduced to Fon Fon as we got out of our vans at the Brother's Hospital. It was not the normal introduction. We first heard Fon Fon from the second story of the hospital screaming out. If you have ever lost someone close to you, you know the scream that I am talking about. After the scream, I knew that someone had just learned about someone close to them passing away. My heart just dropped to the ground listening to the sobs of a young boy that just lost his mother. Many of the people on our team were already hesitant and dare I say scared about being at the hospital and then to get out of the vans to hear a little boy screaming because his mom just died--many probably wanted to climb back in the vans and head back to the medical clinic where we were working at, but God had different plans in mind. Before continuing on about Fon Fon, I need to give you some backgroud information.
This hospital was a hospital for the dying and no one on our team had been there before so we really didn't know what to expect. All we knew was there were people that were terminally ill from Aids and TB at the hospital, and we were going there to essentially be the hands and feet of Jesus. We did not know what we would be doing at the hospital and many on the team were very uncomfortable. Many were praying the night before as to whether or not it was God's plan for them to go. In the end, all of our team went and all of us were blessed for having done so.
After arriving at the hospital, we were told that we wouldn't be doing much medical work with the patients. They wanted us to give the patients massages, shave their faces, and cut their fingernails and toenails. Due to some hesitation on our part, it took us a few minutes to get warmed up to the idea of massaging and shaving people with HIV and TB. Women patients were on the second floor and men patients were on the first floor. The rooms were community style rooms with around 20 beds in each room. As we entered the room with our gloves and masks on, the women began taking their hospital gowns off so that we could massage them. Their faces and smiles said everything that needed to be said--we were being the hands and feet of Jesus to these patients and they were absolutely thrilled. The power of touch is amazing. These people long to be touched just like you and I do and I was so glad that God had chosen me to be a part of this. We continued giving massages and we went into another room filled with more patients. There was a girl around 19 years old that looked more like 12 lying in bed. As a couple of people began massaging her, she started to seize. I joined them a few minutes later not knowing what had just occured. All I knew was that one of our teammates asked me to go get Pastor Kurt to pray over this girl because they thought she was about to die. Several of us stood around the young lady laying our hands on her while Pastor prayed. After the prayer, Pastor saw a Haitian standing behind all of us--he was the girl's father. We had him come up by his daughter's head and he began to pray over his daughter. Right there, in front of all us, he began to pray to our Lord while watching his daughter struggle to stay here on earth. Then the most wonderful thing occured, the father started singing and praising the Lord. This touched my heart in such a way--here is a man about to lose his daughter yet he is praising the Lord, our Lord. The girl did not die that day, she slept peacefully through the night. We know this because her father talked with one of our translators on the phone the next day. He wanted to let us know that she was still alive and that he was grateful for our presence. I don't know if this girl has passed away yet, however, I do know that God was pleased and honored.
Meanwhile, another of our team members was spending time with Fon Fon and learning about him and his family. He is 12 years old and had been living with his mother at the hospital for 4 months. He has 3 brothers and 1 sister all younger than him that are living in the poorest and most dangerous city in the western hemisphere called City Sole. Their father does not work and barely takes care of the children. Can you imagine what was going through this boy's mind--essentially he was going to be the caretaker for his brothers and sister while being a kid himself.
It was not a coincidence that his mother passed away just as we were getting out of the vans--this was a God-incident. God could've taken her home the day before or the day after but He chose that time because He knew that our team was going to be there and He was calling many of our teammembers to help this boy and his family out. So that is what happened--in a nutshell. There are several details that need to be worked out, but Fon Fon and his brothers and sister are going to be taken care of. The first order of business was to find them a place to live--somewhere away from City Sole. Rent is already covered for the first year ($1200 US dollars) and the place is near where our Haitian clinic manager lives. He and another of our translators are going to be checking in on the kids and making sure they are ok. The next things on the agenda are food, clothing, and schooling for these kids which are in the process. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
opening up my soul
Have you ever felt like your heart is just about to leap out of your chest because of so much joy and happiness? I cannot explain to you the feelings that I have been having over the course of the last few days but can I just tell you that I feel like I'm going to explode from this indescribable feeling I have. God is and has been working mightily in me for the last few weeks and I can just feel the Holy Spirit about to take off through me. I have never felt so loved like I do this week. Don't get me wrong, I know that I am loved and that people care about me. There really is only one other time that I have sorta felt the kind of love that I am feeling these days and that was when my brother, Shaun, died in a car accident when I was 18. Our family had so many people there to support us and to love on us. It was an amazing feeling and one that I really didn't think that I would ever feel again. But can I just tell you that even with all the love I felt during that time in my life, I never felt the kind of love I feel today. God was not a part of my life then and I really didn't know if I would make it through that difficult period of time. The amount of love that I feel today is 10 times or maybe even 100 times more than I felt then. I can for 100% certainty tell all of you that the agape love that I have felt from God over the last year and especially the last few weeks & days is worth everything that I have ever gone through. I am right where I need to be in this time of my life and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. This may seem strange to some of you--heck, it even feels strange to me but there's really no words to describe what I am feeling. I want to make a difference in this world, I want to be a light to someone that is in complete darkness, and I want to not only be a believer in Jesus Christ but also a true follower of Jesus Christ. Boy is that hard to say to myself let alone share it so publicly with you all because that makes me vulnerable. Anyway, I have no clue what tomorrow may bring at the benefit dinner, but I can already tell you this--I feel your love today and I'm not even with all of you yet. There may be some huge tears on my part but please know that they are tears of absolute joy and happiness. Someone said to me today, "it's too bad that we couldn't have our funerals before we die because then we would know just how much we are loved," and just maybe knowing that love would make a difference in the rest of our lives. This is so true--why do we wait until someone is gone to let everyone know that we loved that person. I feel truly blessed to be going through this battle because we have had a chance to see just how many people love us and care for us. My hope is that all people would have the feeling this I have today, to know that they are loved no matter what, to know that this kinda of love comes from God. I am so proud to say that this is my God. Blessings, Joslyn
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Roller coasters
Hello all. Can you believe that it is already the middle of October?! The time is just flying by. This past year has been a roller coaster of a ride and I am so grateful that God is going over the hills into the unknown before we are. God truly does give you peace about the unknown if you are just willing to ask and then follow Him. These past few weeks I have been a bit emotional--many times ending in tears--some tears of joy, some tears of sadness, some tears of not knowing. Do you ever have times in your life where you feel God is just calling out to you and pulling you in towards Him so His arms are wrapped so tight around you that you know that it can only be God comforting you? I have had this feeling for the last couple of weeks and I am so glad that I know that my God loves me and cares about how I am feeling and knows how to comfort me.
Jason heads into his 4th round of treatment tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 13th at 3:15) and I would just ask that you would keep in your prayers. Pray for him to continue to feel strong and healthy, that he will tolerate the treatment just like he has the past 3 times, and that he, too, finds comfort in our Almighty God (and that he would know what to do with his wife when she enters these times of huge crocodile tears:)! Blessings on your week, Jason & Joslyn
Jason heads into his 4th round of treatment tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 13th at 3:15) and I would just ask that you would keep in your prayers. Pray for him to continue to feel strong and healthy, that he will tolerate the treatment just like he has the past 3 times, and that he, too, finds comfort in our Almighty God (and that he would know what to do with his wife when she enters these times of huge crocodile tears:)! Blessings on your week, Jason & Joslyn
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Well worth the reading
HAIRBRUSH EXPERIENCE OF BETH MOORE AT THE AIRPORT
For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women how to love and live on God's Word. She has written numerous books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God, and The Patriarchs, that have been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Through the years, American missionaries and expatriates have taken the Bible studies overseas, resulting in Beth Moore Bible study groups popping up all over the world. Upon completion of a tour of New England this fall, Beth's Living Proof Live conferences will have taken her to all fifty states since 1994. The events have been attended by more than 658,000 women. God has graciously given Beth the opportunity to serve the body of Christ in many different countries, including Ireland, England, Singapore, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, Angola, Kenya, and South Africa. Ever the storyteller, Beth is known to pepper her teaching with stories and poems written from the perspective of pertinent characters. She communicates with great energy, passion, humor, warmth, and grace. Beth attends Houston's First Baptist Church, where she hosts an interdenominational Tuesday-night Bible study for women in her city. Because of her burden for unity in the body of Christ, Beth counts serving women of all denominations as one of her greatest privileges in life.
This is one of her experiences: April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego. I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!' There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it...'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man' Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.' At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out , 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you r really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself , what a mess I must be for my bride.' Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!' And we got to share. I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way . . all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me. John 1:14 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth' Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, 'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!' Please share this wonderful story. 'As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' John 20:21 'If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.' Mt. 6:22 'By God's grace I am what I am.' 1 Corinthians 15:10 'I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,. and cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.' Revelation 7:9
For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women how to love and live on God's Word. She has written numerous books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God, and The Patriarchs, that have been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Through the years, American missionaries and expatriates have taken the Bible studies overseas, resulting in Beth Moore Bible study groups popping up all over the world. Upon completion of a tour of New England this fall, Beth's Living Proof Live conferences will have taken her to all fifty states since 1994. The events have been attended by more than 658,000 women. God has graciously given Beth the opportunity to serve the body of Christ in many different countries, including Ireland, England, Singapore, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, Angola, Kenya, and South Africa. Ever the storyteller, Beth is known to pepper her teaching with stories and poems written from the perspective of pertinent characters. She communicates with great energy, passion, humor, warmth, and grace. Beth attends Houston's First Baptist Church, where she hosts an interdenominational Tuesday-night Bible study for women in her city. Because of her burden for unity in the body of Christ, Beth counts serving women of all denominations as one of her greatest privileges in life.
This is one of her experiences: April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego. I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!' There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it...'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man' Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.' At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out , 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you r really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself , what a mess I must be for my bride.' Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!' And we got to share. I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way . . all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me. John 1:14 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth' Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, 'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!' Please share this wonderful story. 'As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' John 20:21 'If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.' Mt. 6:22 'By God's grace I am what I am.' 1 Corinthians 15:10 'I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,. and cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.' Revelation 7:9
Friday, October 3, 2008
Nothing much
Well the last week has been pretty uneventful. We've just been back in our routine. Jason is feeling good--seems to be a little tired but that is expected. Taylor and Easton are still loving school. They seem so old to me--I can't believe how fast they are growing up. I have been getting ready for my mission trip, only a couple more weeks before I leave. Have a great weekend. Blessings, Joslyn
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