Regular People

This is an oldie but goodie circulating through email. I love this story and believe that things like this happen every day. This is the heart of my blog. Enjoy!

'Friends are God's way of taking care of us.'

This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician.

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over.

Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95. I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, 'I don't want my kids to see me crying!

So we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked,'And you were praying?' That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me. I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally, in desperation, had called her parents,with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug, and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something"?

This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong. Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings... Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

The Dress

My church has been hosting some classes on Sunday nights and for the past two years, a group of us have been studying pretty hard. Our last 14 week session was dedicated to discovering God's call on our lives. This has been fabulous on so many levels that I know I will need to blog many many more entries about it. But for today, the tale of the dress...

At the end of the 14 weeks, we had a graduation ceremony. We were to buy a formal dress for the occassion and it was to be a huge event - second only to a wedding. I was not looking forward to dress shopping. To give some background - I have 4 sons and 0 daughters. I knew that most shopping trips were likely to consist of me dragging a baby and possibly another older boy with me. I would be trying to amuse an 18 month old by dancing around a dressing room in a potentially huge dress while one or more of the older boys is dying of boredom and/or embarassment. We would all end up aggravated. Not a good time. And then you know I'd need some new undergarment - ugh! Not to mention the cost when Christmas is coming and money is tight.

As part of the class, we also needed a mentor. I had picked my dear friend and true mentor, Janna. Janna owns the cat rescue, Touched By a Paw, where I had volunteered for 10 years or so. She runs a resale shop in Whitewater and that income funds the shelter. I decided to leave all the boys home with my husband and run up to the resale shop in hopes that I could find something lovely or, let's be real, anything acceptable there.

My friend Missy was working so we were chatting while I tried on some gowns. I found one "maybe" dress but nothing knocked my socks off. Missy and I were goofing around picking out funny dresses to try - ones with weird feathers on the collar or ones that were way too old. Then I found this GEORGEOUS dress in bright pink with sequins and fabulous swooping material in the skirt. I can't begin to tell you how beautiful it was - it looked like candy!

I skipped to the dressing room with it, giggling the whole way. Missy was laughing too. I tried it on and it fit perfect. Seriously. It was too long, but when you're 5'1" that's a given. But everything else was perfect. Nothing fits me perfect - just to be clear - but this dress was made for me.

I went out and showed Missy and we were joking that I needed to go to the prom. This dress was beautiful. Have I mentioned that yet? I had a nice time spinning in circles and making sure I checked every bit of it out. The dress had originally been $300 but had been at the resale shop for so long, it had been marked down to $60. So price was not so much an issue as the fact that it was very pink and almost too lovely.

With much hesitation, I took the dress off and put it back out on the rack. I told Missy I was going to stop back in and try it on at least once a week.

Then I went back to the cat shelter area and visited with a few old friends and Janna. I was glowing about the dress and we all were laughing about it. Later, Janna walked me out through the store and insisted I take the dress with me because I loved it so much. I told her that was ridiculous - I'd never have anywhere to wear it. She suggested I chaperone the prom and wrapped it up for me.

Let me just tell you all at this point, that I LOVE pink. The more little men I am surrounded by, the pinker the clothing I get. Even at that - this dress is far pinker than a 30 year old wife and mom of four need ever wear. I got home with the dress and told my husband it was my dress for graduation, with no intent of wearing it in public. He said "Holy PINK!", then pondered a bit and said, "If anyone can pull it off - you can." I was kind of floored. The more we talked the more supportive he became.

Of course, I had to try it on again at home in case I changed sizes in an hour. Again, I was sad when it was time to take it off again, but one really can't vacuum in a gown of this nature. I had my husband take a photo so I could joke with the girls at church about it. My thought was that I would show my friend Lori, who is not a dress wearer at all, and say "Your dress isn't pinker than this, is it?"

The more people I "joked" with, the more people were saying "That is so you." and not laughing. I even showed my pastor, told him the whole story, and he was supportive. When I left that night he said "Better see you in pink on Saturday".

Now I had myself a dilemna. I had this fabulous dress that I felt very unworthy of, less than a week before the ceremony and no one was joking but me.

In the meantime, I had to draft a Life Purpose Statement to read in front of everyone at the ceremony. We had to give the meaning of our names, our life purpose, and a life verse. I had picked Mathew 5:16 for my life verse: "...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven."

As I mentioned, we had to look into the meaning of our names as that can be a prophetic clue to your calling as it was for Abraham and Jacob in the Bible. I found that many times, God changed people's names or that the Bible points out the meaning of a person's name - which indicates that there is something in a name. My first name, Allison, means truthful and sacred fame. But my middle name, Dee, means dark. We were told to look deeper into the meaning of our names by looking up synonyms and definitions, etc. So "dark" could also be used to mean gloomy, dismal, black, cheerless, pessimistic, or brunette. I can't begin to tell you how that is the polar opposite of everything I am - especially the brunette part!

We had been told that if we discovered our name meant something bad, we should pray over it and claim the opposite for our lives. Well, I must confess, I felt over-confident that God had delivered me from being dark!

The more I pondered over this and my life purpose, the more the word "light" came to mind. Most of my friends life purposes were about being wives and mothers and their jobs and I really felt God tell me very simply, "You are a light." That is all encompassing for me - no matter what I do, I am to shine His love and goodness.

When it comes to my children, my delight in the Lord must show. If they see that I love to sing worship on Sunday mornings, that I go to church because I want to, not because it's a duty they will see that God is good. When I give my testimony on how God has blessed Jack and I for tithing people will see how He provides. When people see my optimism after what I have been through, they will see how God loves and restores his people.

This is my purpose...to shine. So why then, was I afraid to wear this fabulous dress? I was afraid to stand out, afraid that someone would say something unkind to me because it stood out, afraid that I was not pretty enough, confident enough, thin enough to wear this beautiful gown. I kept making bargains with God, "If I can find someone to hem it with no notice, then I'll wear it." Everything fell into place.

I wore the dress and it felt lovely. I was certainly not as confident as I would have been in my back up black dress, but it was a lesson for me that I could not forget. I felt so loved that I had been provided that dress for free - Janna had given it to me and the lady that hemmed it for me would not accept money in return. All things fell into place.

Another lesson: Sometimes I feel badly for asking for things in prayer. I always think "There are people whose children are dying, how can I pray for my cat who is ill? There are people without homes, how can I pray about my furnace? God has much more important things to tend to than my needs and after all, my needs are so petty in comparison to others and I can take care of them myself and 'God helps those who help themselves', right?" WRONG! I was so wrong. Each and every one of our needs is of concern to the Father and even some things we never thought we needed and certainly don't deserve - like fabulous, georgeous gowns in PINK!

Billy

I can't verify this story, but I'd love to believe it is truth...

It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season that would bankrupt several farmers before it was through.

Every day, my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn’t see some rain soon...we would lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my own eyes.

I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my Six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great effort ... trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches; thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour: walking carefully to the woods, running back to the house.

Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen...as he was obviously doing important work and didn't need his Mommy checking up on him). He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked, being very careful not to spill the water he held in them ... maybe two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face, but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him...he didn't even move as Billy knelt down.

I saw a tiny fawn lying on the ground; obviously suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand. When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid behind a tree. I followed him back to the house to a spigot to which we had shut off the water. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip, drip slowly fill up his makeshift "cup," as the sun beat down on his little back. And it came clear to me: The trouble he had gotten into for playing with the hose the week before. The lecture he had received about the importance of not wasting water. The reason he didn't ask me to help him. It took almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands. When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him. His little eyes just filled with tears. "I'm not wasting," was all he said. As he began his walk, I joined him...with a small pot of water from the kitchen.

I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known working so hard to save another life. As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, other drops...and more drops...and more suddenly joined them. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence. Those miracles don't really exist. That it was bound to rain sometime. And I can't argue with that... I'm not going to try. All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm...just like the actions of one little boy saved another. I don't know if anyone will read this...but I had to send it out. To honor the memory of my beautiful Billy, who was taken from me much too soon... But not before showing me the true face of God, in a little, sunburned body.

*~THAT'S GOD ~* Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone you care for? THAT'S GOD! He speaks to you through the Holy Spirit Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to Talk to? THAT'S GOD! He wants you to speak to Him. Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven't seen in a long time and then next thing you know you see them or receive a phone call from them? THAT'S GOD! There's no such thing as coincidence. Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn't even ask for, like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a department store where you had just seen something you wanted, but couldn't afford. THAT'S GOD. . He knows the desires of your heart. . Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it is going to get better, but now you look back on it? THAT'S GOD! He passes us through tribulation to see a brighter day. Don't tell GOD how Big your storm is. Tell the storm how Big your GOD is!

The Parable of the Pigeon

God has an interesting way of bringing things to my attention. He will just keep putting the same thing in front of me over and over and over again until the light bulb turns on.

I have been really busy lately. Between working full time plus on a stressful project, finishing my Master's degree, along with all the day to day stuff raising babies and unpacking, etc. I started feeling sick in early August - running a fever and feeling very run down but chalked it up to all the moving. I kept taking Tylenol for the fever and still going to work and school and started a new Bible study at church.

After nine days, I decided to bite the bullet and go into the doctor and they determined that I had pneumonia in my left lung. I stayed home the afternoon and started my antibiotics and tried to rest a bit. My problem is that I am a little hyper and the minute I was feeling a small bit better, I would do too much until I felt ill again. I ended up needing two rounds of antibiotics, a trip to the emergency room, before I was diagnosed with pleurisy, an infection in the lining of the lung. My right side ribs hurt so badly that I could not sleep at night, but I still kept trying to keep up.

In my Bible study, the teacher told us that God is the same today as He was yesterday. She mentioned that He still speaks in parables and shared one with us.

The following day, I got home from work to find my neighbor waiting for me. She said she had found a bird and thought it was sick because it wouldn't fly and had been hanging out in her garage for a few hours. I offered to call some local wildlife rescues and see what to do and we were found out it was a pigeon that was most likely lost. We caught the bird with the help of many more neighbors and kept him in a cat carrier overnight to rest. I researched some more on pigeons.com and was able to determine which kind of pigeon he was based on his tags. I so wanted to see this little bird make it home safe. I talked to a woman the next day who advised me to release the bird and he would go home on his own, but when I released him, he just stayed on our swingset for the entire day. We chatted while I worked in the dining room and he was very sweet company.

That afternoon, after a series of phone calls, I was able to track down the bird's owner and he came and picked him up. He told me that this little bird was about 200 days old and had just flown in his first race. He had been shipped to Missouri and had to fly over 250 miles home. However, he had overshot it and flown 12 miles too far to get to my home. By the time he got here, he was exhausted and needed several days rest to recover enough to fly again.

My friend, Sue, from Bible study had stopped by and I was chatting with her about all the sickness and the pigeon, etc and she asked me if I thought there was a parable in there. I sat up thinking about it all night and found it so interesting that this bird would show up here and this time, tired because he tried to go too far, to do too much.

Keeping the Faith

Romans 8:28

"For we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."

I have to belive this right now. This is all I've got - my only hope.

A friend of mine sent me an essay that a friend of hers wrote about stepping out of your hole - you know, the safe place where things are known and not scary and safe. There is safety in continuity, but no growth. To step up when my Father says "Go" is terribly frightening. I find myself questioning whether or not He really said that or meant that or knew what he was talking about when He put this on my heart. Did He remember that this is a terrible time for me to pursue this? Of course - He is omnipotent - He knows it all.

So tday, I'm kind of at that precipace - the point at which you've strapped yourself into the rollercoaster and it's too late to ask to get off now and I could be terrified. My sense of logic tells me to be terrified. My comfort zone is screaming at me. And yet, I'm pressing forward - against all worldly logic. With only an ancient promise that He is looking out for me. That he would not bring harm to me. I look forward to praising Him when he comes through with a miracle that I never saw coming.

Good vs. Perfect

Wha-shew! Crazy day today at work and with the kidlets. Had a great phone conversation with my dear friend, Janna who owns and runs Touched by a Paw - a local no-kill cat rescue. It is seriously so energizing to talk with godly friends.

We were chatting about the sermons we've been listening to lately. I gotta tell you, my new most favorite is the Be Ye Perfect track off The Others I collection from Relevant Revolution Sermon Jams. Sermon Jams themselves were my new most favorite thing a few months ago. Seriously fed my hunger and I can listen to them all day. But Be Ye Perfect is a GREAT on for folks like me and Janna - here's why...

I am a good person (not even bragging). I am a rescuer - can't say no to helping anyone. Repeatedly get trampled because I think no one is really mean or malicious. I am pretty charitible and volunteer, donate blood - whatever - I am here to make God look good so I am forever trying to let that shine. God has blessed me with lots of energy so its not even like I go out of my way - its really just my very nature.

The theme of this sermon is to NOT do what is good - for the sake of doing what is perfect and ordained by God. He gives the example of a kid he was mentoring picking up a hitch-hiker to witness to. The guy didn't get it and the kid was upset and asking what he did wrong. And the mentor tells him he did a GOOD thing picking up a hitch-hiker. But it was his good idea - not God's. What if God had meant for him to pick up another person 5 miles further down the road, but the kid had filled that guy's seat by picking up the first person he saw.

WOW! That spoke to me. I need to watch this in myself. I am usually running myself slightly ragged trying to do for everyone. One of my best friends told me to say no - "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" Hmmmm. I suppose its sinking in a bit now.

The guy goes on to say that any words out of his mouth that are not from God are all in vain. YIKE! I talk a lot and kind of surprised myself recently when I heard words that I didn't think I could speak coming out. THAT was God! I asked a complete stranger if I could pray for her - out of no where. Allison would be afraid to say that to someone for fear of being called a Bible Thumper or worse. God put those words out there for me and I wasn't afraid and she said yes and as it turned out she was very in need of prayer.

At best, I am good. At worst, God if PERFECT.

Catherine's Daughter

This morning I donated blood and got chatting with the girl that did my paperwork about my kids, etc. She said she didn't know how I could handle 4 kids when she had a hard time with just one. I asked her how old her child was and she flipped over her name badge to show me a picture of her 5 year old daughter.

We talked a little bit more and she told me that for a long time she struggled with infertility and then she started a savings account with her leftover change for her baby. She was not pregnant at this time. She said she had over $700 in her baby account from just her spare change and she decided to start buying baby things as they were on sale. So she was picking up all sorts of clearanced baby items at Wal-mart. Her own mother told her she was crazy, but Catherine said she KNEW God would bless her with a baby. Time went by and she had nearly everything she needed for a baby and God blessed her with a baby girl. She said she knew it was because of her faith in Him - that she knew he heard her prayers. Her only regret? She said she should have tacked an "S" on the end of that prayer for babies. ;-)

I'm not sure how long she waited for her daughter. She told me she had now worked for the blood center for 23 years so it would seem like she had her at least in her mid-thirties.