Let me tell you of 2 stories of 2 women who have forever left imprints on my heart.
The first precious one I have had the pleasure of shadowing many times. She is wise and precious woman of God who is now 76 I believe. What amazing gifts of wisdom I am learning from her. She has a true legacy of love for God’s people..especially the hurting. When she first moved here from Virginia she was so diligent to check up on me after we initially met. She truly wanted to make sure I was doing well and offering prayer and encouragement weekly.
Soon we would share lunch or I would go visiting with her and I realized some major holes in my love for God’s people. I have always been good at discerning needs and even delivering miracles as the Holy Spirit led me..however what I saw as a profound treasure was my friends strong follow up and attention to details. She spends all of her days meeting with those God gives her ….for hours sometimes. Then she prepares for them little encouraging notes, articles that she felt would be helpful to their struggles, and scripture or words from the Lord she felt was for each. She is always delivering things to people. It is not uncommon to see her holding a handful of items with names written on them. Her endurance has completely floored me. She can run circles around me…:) But within her is the love of Christ to set His people free and to see them whole. She recognized early in me some needs and for some time has gently nudged me to pour into others, sift through the prophetic words from the Lord, share what Christ has given me, and she has confirmed for me what I have known for years…always have an arsenal of tools ready in season and out of season.
I keep her stocked with music cd’s, books, encouraging postcards, and magazines that she diligently uses for Kingdom work. So do many others. She never wastes a resource…and she is always using that which Christ births in His people to encourage others. She prints many of the poems God gives me to hand to hearts in need of a NOW WORD as God points them out! She is always mindful of the art of giving….and the impact it makes in the Kingdom.
I confess I have fallen so short here. We are good at first connections most times, but we quickly forget our brothers and sisters in need. Yet this woman fills her days with appointments, phone calls till midnight, and countless love notes to which I have personally been the recipient of…she has also supplied many in need of nutritional gems she felt might help a weary person build strength…and has impacted the area for Christ to more people in 2 years than I have ever seen one person do. One thing is for sure…she is in it for the long haul with each heart. Her desire is to see them released from cages and free to be all Christ created them to be.
She has also been a beautiful person who knows how to confront a stronghold with love and grace…where she says..”I love them enough to share truth and allow God to work.” She has been an encouraging voice seeing uniquely the gifts Christ has placed in me and others…and nudging many forward despite hesitations..pointing us to the author and finisher of our faith…never allowing me once to stand down from the call placed on my life..even when I felt I could not go on. She has challenged me to hear His voice alone…and follow.
She is a missionary…she lives by faith and rarely shares her own needs with others. Because she has simply “shown up” time and time again for the needs of others…she has earned the trust of many and when she speaks…..others listen. She is fulfilling the great commission. She has not been ordained by a missionary board, recognized by any organization, or funded by religious organizations….but she is exactly what the disciples were…pure and simple. I want to be like her when I grow up:)
Now, this 2nd woman I may never meet again..but nonetheless she will never know how much she impacted me in one meeting. I sat in a small women’s conference with my mom. It was during a tough season and I was praying no one I knew was there..except a friend who was speaking and a few others I would recognize. I sat in a corner quietly and hoped to remain unseen for the most part…until the pastor said “someone here needs deep healing and our guest (the lady I am speaking of) would like to pray with you…the Lord says if you will let Him go deep He will heal your broken heart.” The tears broke like a waterfall and I knew I had to walk up to the front…as I did this precious older woman..with years with Christ and an incredible tender heart tucked one arm under mine and gently pulled me to her. She began to pray and I wept. Then she tucked her other arm under my other arm and laid my head on her shoulder..and she prayed softly and stroked my hair. She squeezed me so tight in one huge hug. I could hear her say every once in while…”now now…” and like a gentle grandmother just rocked me awhile. The world disappeared..and I no longer cared about the rest of the room. The pastor continued to pray with the congregation and let God take as long as He needed…and for quite a long time this spiritual grandmother prayed over my broken heart. As the service was ending, she grabbed my hand and said “come sit by me..” and for the rest of the service took her hand and gently placed my head on her shoulder in our chairs and like a little girl rocked me gently as she began to put my needs before the Lord again. I heard her talk with Him about my heart…and say things she could have never known about my sorrow..and although the pastor was closing out the conference..she continued to pat my leg and rock me gently as she prayed. When the conference was over the Lord had showed her my struggle through prayer and she offered another little sister in ministry her cell number to “please call me anytime…” She shared many of her own experiences in ministry and encouraged me not to give up. I had never felt the literal hug of Christ until that moment. The unhurried and authentic heart caring of one of His wounded lambs. She might have been there as a speaker but she she was the real deal….she was not just interested in a presentation but the power of Christ touching a hurting heart…and she was willing to take her time and hug me like Jesus…
The significance of this to me was the day it came to be my turn to offer this gift to another. I saw the brokenness of a sweet friend and all I could do was put my arms around her, her head on my shoulder, and pray as her tears drenched my jeans as we sat on the floor. I remembered exactly the woman who did it for me and I learned that sometimes the best thing one needs is our time…hugs…and someone to sit with them and weep also …gently laying another’s needs before His throne.
Lord, I need more of this kind of love and heart. Help us truly care about others. Help us get involved in their lives. Help us understand prayer is wonderful yet not all that is needed. Feed the poor, clothe the sick, bind the brokenhearted, weep with the weeping, hug the hurting. This is how people will know we are your disciples….it’s the kind of love that caused you to pause and heal on your way to the cross. To weep when you saw your friends weeping. This is where we lack most Lord….we keep withdrawing from the fight for our brothers and sisters…yet only you can give us this kind of love for others. Love that fights for each other…love that holds tight….love that stands between the devil and our brothers and sisters. This is the love I want…
Love Much,
Shelly
