It took longer than we expected to find a tutor. I needed someone who could meet near my home, during the baby's nap and would do a good job teaching me this difficult language. Today I am more confident than ever that God was holding out for His perfect plan. It's not simply that I needed those first couple months to find an apartment, get settled in, and learn my way around the city. He was also hand-picking the girl for the job. We'll call her Hilary. She and I met this past Friday. It was a good meeting. We enjoyed getting to know each other a little bit, talked over details about when and where we would meet and how much money I would pay her. Lessons began on Monday afternoon, and continued Tuesday and then today. They went really well. She is a sweet girl, just a few months younger than I am. We have many things in common despite having incredibly different backgrounds and cultures.
Before I jump into everything that happened while we were together this afternoon I need to tell you about my day. My daughter woke up before I did which meant my quiet time was almost non-existent. Nothing horrible happened this morning, but I just didn't feel great, wasted quite a bit of time on the computer and was feeling really blah. By the time the baby went down for a nap and I had a second to myself I only had 10 minutes until I needed to leave for my lesson so I picked up my journal. This is what I wrote:
"I'm tired Father, feeling spent - lazy, BLAH! Wash over me. Use me this afternoon with Hilary. Allow me to hear Your voice. I confess my weaknesses and failures today. Draw me near to You through grace and steadfast love."
And so, I put on my scarf, coat, boots and hat and grabbed my books to head out the door. I got to the local eatery where we study and Hilary was there waiting for me. We jumped right into our study time. After doing some review from the previous days we began to learn some vocabulary about marriage.
-Are you married?
-How long have you been married?
-I found a good husband.
When she began to tell me how to translate "I found a good husband," I told her that God gave me a good husband. She said, "Oh, do you believe in God?" I told her that I do and then we went back to studying and learning new vocabulary.
A little while later she said something, that I can't for the life of me remember, and it set of bells in my head (basically God saying, SHARE YOUR STORY!). So I did. I told her that although I had always had a good family and friends there was a time in my life that I felt empty. I would lay in bed and wonder, "What is the point of all of this?" It was only after I began to know God and understand Him that I realized He is the point of life. True life is found only in Him. She told me that when she was away for college she met a foreign couple that had a really good marriage. They told her it was because of their relationship with God and His teachings in the Bible. They gave her a Bible and shared with her, she even watched the Jesus film with them. She told me that until today she thought that she could not have a relationship with God because it was so different from what she had heard when she was growing up. I shared with her that He loves her and has a wonderful plan for her life. I could see the hope growing in her face and her countenance. We were both close to tears and I was literally shaking with excitement. She told me that she really wants to believe. I told her that she can ask God to show Himself to her. I told her that she can pray to Him anytime and He will hear her. I asked her if I could pray for her right then and she said yes. I prayed for her. I asked God to continue to show Himself to her and to allow her to understand how much He loves her. She told me that when she had watched the Jesus film before it had really moved her and that she had cried when she saw what Jesus had done. I told her that because of His gift she can have a relationship with God. I had a key-chain in my bag in the shape of a heart. On one side it says "Incomparable Love" and on the other side it says John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." I gave her the key-chain and she said she would cherish it. It is written in her language. She also said that tonight she would "Give it a try." She would try to pray to God and ask Him to let her have a relationship with her.
WOW! I am so excited and thankful. Please be praying for Hilary. Pray that her faith, however small, would be strengthened and that tonight she truly will take a step to trust the Father with her heart. She has all of the facts now she just needs to make the decision!
The joy that is over-flowing in my heart comes because I am so aware of the Father's work in my life. You see, today I was a shell of myself, but He filled me up. In my weakness He showed His strength. Today he did a miracle in my life and in the life of my new friend.
My God is living and active!
-Kari
1 comment:
Wow. Wow....WOW!!! :D Awesome. Thank you for sharing. You really have a way with words. I love to hear the cry of your heart because often it's what I'm having difficulty articulating for myself. Thank you sweet friend.
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