A Calling Fulfilled

As I sat praying this morning the Lord reminded me of something.  A time way back when.  A time when my children were still small and we were still young.  A time when I wondered--have I made a mistake?  Yes, I wondered--for a short time--if I had married the wrong person.  Are you shocked?  So was I.

You know that portion of Scripture (Phil 2:12) where it says that we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling?  Yeah, that one.  Only it wasn't my salvation that I was trying hard to work out.  It was my husbands.  And although he had been raised in a Christian home, I found out after a few years of marriage that he was grappling with his own salvation.  He had questions, many questions and honestly it scared me to death. What in the world, I wondered, had I gotten myself into?  How had I not seen this coming?  Was I so totally blinded that I missed this seemingly huge hole?  And what about the fact that I thought, no I had been sure, that I had heard from God about marrying him?  He was the one, my true love, my soul mate--but, what about now?  What about this?  What about his relationship with my God?  My heart was breaking as reality was setting in.

It seemed that after almost 10 years of marriage and 3 children later that my husband had come to the conclusion that he wasn't quite as sold on this whole religion stuff (his words) as I was.  As he sat there confessing his disillusionment with the church, with God, and with all of religion in general, I sat there with tears spilling down my face, wondering--what now?  Just what do I do now?

So what did I do?  I prayed.  I prayed probably harder during those few months than I had ever prayed in my life.  And now that I think about it, I don't know if I've ever prayed as hard since--for several reasons--one being that now, through the trials and tribulations of my life, I have learned to pray and then leave it at the feet of Jesus.  At that time though--I fell completely apart.  I had no one to talk to about this new development, and really no one to trust.  And two is that I was afraid of being judged and condemned, and also very afraid for my husband.  So, praying about it was my only release and also, my only solution.

Months passed, and then one day one of my closest friends called and asked if we wanted to go to a  service at a local church that evening, it seems they were having a guest speaker who was pretty interesting to listen to.  I knew my husband would laugh it off and not want to go, but I prayed about it and asked him anyway.  And much to my surprise--he said yes.  So much for my faith!  We all got babysitters, went to dinner first, and then off to the service--all 6 of us.  3 couples in all, 5 witnesses to later be able to share what happened that night.  For that night was a night to remember, that's for sure.  That night my husband met God in a way he had never encountered God before.

Really, this is his story.  I'll have to change modes now and just tell it from my viewpoint.  One day he might want to share it in his own words.  However, this is what I saw.  This is what happened on that fateful night almost 30 years ago.

I was sitting next to a man (my man) who sat there with his arms folded tightly across his chest.  He had a look on his face that said--there is no way that I will believe anything you have to say.  He actually was scowling.  And I was embarrassed.  So very embarrassed.  However, this man of God--preaching, teaching, and sharing the Lord, was looking at my husband the entire time and the look on his face was one of love, he even smiled a couple of times.  In other words, he knew in his heart what was going on in my husband's heart.  And after he was done speaking he looked over at my husband and asked if he could pray for him.  After swallowing my heart and wiping the sweat from my brow--I began to pray.  Please God, let this man get through to my husband.  And surprisingly, my husband said sure, you can pray for me, however, he didn't say it in a very nice way.  More embarrassment for me.  Much more.

When my husband walked up to the front of that little church, something began to happen.  The pastor began to pray for my husband, he never laid a hand on him, he never prayed loudly, all he did was stand there and quietly pray.  Minutes ticked by and he still prayed, and then all of a sudden my husband's hands reached into the air.  Actually, both arms shot into the air like arrows.  I almost fainted.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  What was happening?  He then asked me to come up front too.  I went up there and instead of praying for me, he gently took my hands and began to speak to me, softly--saying, something new is happening.  Your husband is going to begin to grow in Christ-like you've never seen before.  His growth will be so fast, and so quick, it will shock everyone who knows him.  You won't be able to keep up with him.  You will have to be very understanding and patient with him.  Let him work this new relationship out with the Lord at his own speed.  And most of all be kind.

When the pastor was done praying for us and with us, we walked back to our seats and sat down.  I don't know exactly what my husband was thinking, but I can tell you what I was thinking.  What the heck just happened?  Is my husband a real Christian now?  Did he just get saved?  Am I dreaming this?  Yes, those questions and a million more flitted through my brain faster than a speeding bullet.

That was 30 years ago.  And guess what?  Everything that happened that night, every word that was spoken, every prayer that was prayed--happened just the way it was told to us.  Every single thing.
My husband grew in his new relationship with his God.  He began to study the Bible like nothing I had ever seen before.  He changed so completely that within 6 months time, he was no longer the same person whom I had married.

And today?  Well, today he is in Africa, on a missions trip--just him and his God.  Ministering to whoever God calls him to minister to.  And me?  Well, I am home praying and blogging my heart out.  And thanking my God every step of the way.  God is good.  God is faithful.