A Lesson Learned From Friends...

Recently Jeremy and I were invited to dinner at a friend's home.  They too are adopting internationally and wanted us to "help them" set up a Blog to share with their family and friends.  As we walked in their door to "teach" them how to set up a blog, we walked out of their home having been "taught" much more about life. 

As we sat with them at dinner and shared our family's stories, we learned so much about the will of God and the beauty He has for our lives.  Their testimony was so touching to us as a family that we wanted to go home and immediately change the way we live our life.  They taught us, through their life circumstances, that anytime you feel God calling you to do something, you do it.  Their life/marriage was completely changed by one person stepping out in faith and asking if she could pray with them because she felt God was calling her to do so.  Because of this one prayer, their entire marriage was saved.  God put things on this lady's heart to share with our friend that completely affirmed some thoughts she had been having and questioning if they were really God or not.  What they took from this experience was that we all have to act on our feelings God calls us to do and act immediately.  If this lady had ignored her calling to pray for them, their marriage might not be saved now and 2 children from Haiti might not be getting a forever family. 

In my mind, I often have thoughts that I "think" are from God, but I will sit and question if it was really God or just me making it up.  I asked them how they are able to "know" it is God?  They replied with an answer that I hope will change my questioning into a sure fire way to respond.  They simply ask themselves if it is something that is "good" and if it aligns with the principles in the Bible.  That seems simple enough.  Boy do I make things more complicated than they really are sometimes.  :)  Because of their testimony, I will now act on any thoughts God puts in my head.  What if I was the person who was called to ask a lady how her day was and share the love of God and I chose not to?  What would happen to her?  What if I was the person who was called to pray with somebody and God used me to change their marriage?  What if you were the person who was called to compliment somebody and God used you to change the way they thought about themselves?  What if you were the person called to help an elderly man load the groceries in his car and you chose not to do so because it might make you behind schedule?  This man could have just lost his wife and be drowning in sorrow and questioning God's love and you could change his life and way of thinking by stepping out in faith and doing something that matters.  As I posted in a recent blog post, sometimes the "hard" things in life are what make a difference.  It is not easy to step out of our way and out of our comfort zone, but I know that God will use those who are willing to do so to accomplish great things.  We each play an crucial role in God's plan and it takes us all doing our part to make His plans work "on earth as it is in Heaven." 

I hope you have an awesome day!