March 31, 2018

Greetings My Friend,

I met Jesus 20 years ago, really meant Him. I could say I was a cultural Christian prior to that, I went to church, I even volunteered, went on short term mission trips although I can't say I really knew Jesus. After my divorce though I had hit my lowest point, had nowhere else to turn so I started talking to God about the pain I felt. I did not always understand it was God working good in my life, today I can look back seeing God's handprint all over my life even as a young child. A few years ago I discovered God was opening up my spirit to receive His. I found as I read the Bible daily I kept stumbling across the fact that God is Spirit, that we need to meet Him in our spirit. I then in very tiny steps began recognizing the Holy Spirit's touch on my soul. Through the year's I learned to be thankful for all that I have, understand God truly provided all things in my life. Today as I look back I see how He ripped me out of my very dysfunctional, abusive marriage. Once He opened the door I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction. More recently I have realized 21 years after my divorce I am finally healed emotionally, I feel a strength I have never known. God had to move me from the state I grew up in to Virginia, I joined a church that required water baptism by immersion so I chose to be baptized in the Russell Fork river. As I was preparing to be baptized I felt God give me a word picture, I was crossing the Red Sea of my faith journey much like Israel crossed the  Red Sea when God freed them from bondage in Egypt. In Virginia I have been able to begin to fully heal from a lifetime of abuse, at one point God showed me I needed to take medication in order to be able to quiet my mind, hear His voice. As I have grown I have also begun to see God's awesome miracle's in my life, of those I love around me. Even though I grew up with a father who lived when doctor's thought he would die, walked when doctor's said he would never walk, I had not seen the miracle's God has been doing around me. Last week our good friend Boogie needed to go the ER, her leg was swollen from when her cat scratched her. She has been treating this for 3 weeks with antibiotics, she woke up after a nap, her leg was swelling again so her daughter Debbie took her to the ER. Before Junior and I showed up, I put a request into our One call church system asking for prayer, I also asked my Facebook friends to pray for her as Debbie her daughter asked her friends to pray. Before we got there Boogie had some blood drawn for lab work. Later Boogie had an ultra sound looking for a blockage. The doctor's had told Boogie she was going to need to stay overnight at least so they could determine what was going on. Later a specialist came in, looked at Boogie's leg, there was not swelling in her leg. God was listening to the prayers of the people. I was amazed how God took care of the swelling. The next day I read of an old high school friend Marla whose knee was swollen, she needs a knee replacement, the bone is bone on bone. She was helping out with a birthday party for one her grandchildren, was very concerned. Marla went grocery shopping, met an old friend, they chatted talked about the aches and pains of life. Her friend walked away, came back a few minute's later told Marla that she felt a nudge from God she needed to pray for Marla's knee. The selling went down, Marla could now do what she wanted to in helping with the birthday party. These two back to back instances reminded me that sometimes we need to open the eyes of our heart to see the work's of God going on all around us. For me I started seeing God's hand on everything when I learned to thank God daily for the provisions of life. I had a fear I would wind up living out on the streets, I am 64 years old and never have been close to living on the streets. God gave my childhood family a place to live after polio when Dad's parent's refused to help us. God provided a church family who helped feed us, cloth us and even worked with Mom in getting a mortgage when women could not get mortgages, Mom was able to go to work so she could support our family. I pray the eyes of my heart will continue to thank God for all He has done, be open to His work in my life, the lives around me. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet