Entry No. 54 - THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT FOLKS – Part III “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 Lonnie and Bam were involved in an incident where a man lost his life. It was a tragic and scary time. I didn’t sleep for two nights. I kept waking up with fear gripping my chest at the thought of what their futures held. This is when I knew that I couldn’t love these boys any more than if they were my own sons. I couldn’t imagine what their mother and Kelsey must have been feeling. I prayed nonstop. Finally, after a couple days, I was able to see them in person. I will never forget that day. It was a special feeling to be together. I felt peace for the first time in several days. This was a very serious situation and I think we all knew that God was the only one who could work things out and provide protection. A small group of their closest family members and friends had gathered in an aunts home. We shared a meal together and talked about things. As the evening drew to a close, we all gathered in a circle and I prayed. I prayed for wisdom and protection. Lonnie and Kelsey had another son who was only four months old at the time. I prayed for strength for Kelsey. The baby was experiencing some physical issues that were causing him to develop infections that would require frequent ER visits and antibiotics. Kelsey’s strength and unwavering calm through all of this is beyond expression. I am still in awe of the wisdom, strength, and calm that this young woman possesses. If ever there was a time to talk to them about God, this was it. I told them that I wanted to teach them about God and I invited them to church on Sunday. They promised to be there. I was so relieved and proud when Lonnie, Kelsey, the baby, Myles, Bam, Beau, and another little girl showed up for church on Father’s day. As the weeks passed and the anxiety from the incident began to lessen; it seemed to me that Lonnie and Bam were beginning to forget their need for God and their declaration that they wanted to learn more about Him. I continued to pray. I knew that God was the only one who could truly bring them a life of peace and happiness. I prayed day and night. I felt physically exhausted from the worry and the stress. I was feeling especially burdened for Lonnie and very discouraged one day in July. I was weeping and asking God, “Why is it so hard for people to surrender to you? I know that you are the only way to true happiness. I have experienced it for myself, but others just don’t seem to want you.” At that very moment, the bible teacher on the radio said, “Friend, Jesus Christ is standing at the right hand of God crying out on your behalf right now.” I knew that the Lord was telling me, “Kathie, Jesus Christ is standing at the right hand of God crying out on Lonnie’s behalf right now.” I realized I had been taking on a burden that was not mine to carry. I was trying to be their savior and that was not my responsibility. I was taking on stress that was not necessary. In that moment I said, “Lord, I believe that you are working in Lonnie’s life and he will come to know and accept you one day; and if I have to pray for ten years for that to happen, then that is what I will do. I will NEVER stop praying.” I experienced total peace as soon as I made that promise and I no longer felt anxious and fearful. A couple weeks later, I received a text from Lonnie on a Sunday morning. He said, “You have to help me get my family back. I can’t live without them.” I knew that the stress of the past couple months was taking its toll on this young family and Kelsey had left Lonnie. I didn’t know how to respond at first. I knew what the answer was but I wasn’t sure that Lonnie wanted to hear it. With boldness, I responded to Lonnie’s text. I said, “God is the only one who can help you get your family back. I know that you want to change, and you can change for a little while, but you will always keep coming back to this point if you don’t have God to help you. No one can truly change without the Spirit of God.” The conversation went on for a while. Lonnie finally said, “I won’t let anyone take my family away from me. I will fight for them until I die.” I responded, “You don’t have to fight for them. You have to love them and you can’t do that without the love of Christ.” We agreed to meet the next day for lunch to discuss it further. To be continued…
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 06:52:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015