Man may think he has a heads up on the technology of instant, worldwide communication systems, but his knowledge is just child's play when it comes to God's network. Our Heavenly Father crosses timezones, has amazing links, and never has a power outage or drops a call. Every time I experience His networking system, I am left speechless, teary-eyed and awe-stricken. Take today, for instance.
I woke up feeling anxious. As many of you know, I am soon to leave for Italy where I will be speaking to support groups who help abused women. I think I was allowing myself to feel rushed and worried about having so much to do and prepare for this trip, and time seemed like it was running out. I felt the responsibility to bring a message of hope to each women at the meetings, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of it. I know better than to be anxious, I know God is in control, that it's not about me, and I should relax. But I just couldn't. So I plainly told Him I was having a rough time and He would have to help relieve the anxiety, because my efforts to be at peace were proving futile. So instead of Facebook, the "God Network" began.
Shortly after my plea to God the phone rang. It was a dear friend from Florida who said she felt she had to just call and tell me she loved me. She is going through a difficult time with a very sick husband, so my anxiousness did not seem worthy to even discuss. But we did, and her words were "You were born for this day. God's got you covered from the front and behind. Have fun with this mission and enjoy what He is doing." I knew she was right, and the next few hours I diverted my "introspection" to listening to praise music as I worked on a purse.
Then by late afternoon, my morning plea was turned into tears of gratefulness. The wonderful lady that I had met seven years ago and suddenly reappeared in my life a few weeks ago, (last blog entry) stopped by to give me the bookmarks I had made for the ladies in Italy, that she had laminated for me. That's not counting the 100 tissue holders that she made for the trip! But the most awesome thing was when she handed me a little gift. It was a card she had laminated, with beautiful butterflies, and this verse: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him"..Romans 15:13. Could it be more direct than that?
But that's not all. We talked for a while, I shared a song with her called "Broken into Beautiful" that I will be using in Italy, and I gave her one of the tissue holders which I had decorated with ribbon and a beautiful organza butterfly. It was a blessed time together of sharing all that God is doing. I couldn't thank her enough for all she had done in helping me show the Italian women with these little gifts that they are loved and special. She left, and I started back to work.
Then I heard a knock on the door. It was Margo again. She said "God wouldn't let me get away without buying more books." I was speechless. She had already been more than a generous supporter of this mission in every way. But she handed me a check for fifteen more books and five abuse booklets. And she added some extra! I signed all the books, thanking her over and over again. She was plugged into God's network, and I was the recipient, and of course, the ladies in Italy.
After she left, the tears came. They flooded my face and dripped on my sewing table. Tears of gratefulness. Too much for words. God was speaking to me, loud and clear, exchanging my worries for the awareness of His greatness, His plan, His purpose, His provision. Connecting the past to the present and future, all in one moment. But that's His operating system at work, His wonderful, powerful network where believers hear his commands, move by His Spirit, and are not bound by time.
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