"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13 NLT)
Miracles can come in many packages, and yesterday's came in the shape of a tall, middle-aged woman who walked in off the street to visit the grief support group I facilitate....
But perhaps it's good to back up a bit....
The support group for grieving people has been running with four facilitators for the past five years. Things were going smoothly, and I thanked God for my co-facilitators. I knew I could rely on them completely to be there when I couldn't be there. And perhaps I relied on them a bit too much, because in the Spring of this past year, all three of them resigned the same week....
Was it time for me to resign as well? How could I carry the burden of such a group all by myself? And as shy as I am, how could I recruit new facilitators?
I prayed and asked God to allow me to resign. His answer was clear: "No!"
I prayed then and told God that He would have to come through with more facilitators, or I wouldn't be able to run the group. His answer this time was.... Well, it actually was non-existent. It was like He hadn't even heard my prayer, because weeks turned into months and there were no potential facilitators knocking on my door.
I took the problem to the pastor of our church who is responsible for the grief support program. He began making phone calls, and he even made several announcements in church that there was this need.
More weeks went by. "God? You know I can't do this alone!"
His answer? "You can do everything through Christ, who gives you strength!" (See Phil 4:13)
Well you can't argue with the Word of God, so I resigned myself to running the fall group by myself.
That wasn't good enough for God, however. He soon helped me to see that He hadn't told me to run it by myself. He had told me that I could only do it if I did it through Christ!
I gave the whole thing to God at this point and I was filled with peace. I even had joy overrunning my heart. I knew that somehow it would be the best support group session ever, because God was in charge, and I, but His humble servant.
It was only a few days after that when I received an email from the pastor telling me that someone had volunteered to co-facilitate the group.
I praised God.
Then I received another email from the same pastor to inform me that there would be at least nine people attending the class...
Nine people! Yikes! We would need more than two facilitators for nine people!
I had learned my lesson, however. I gave it all back to God and continued to pray for someone else to step up to the plate.
As the beginning class approached, I was contacted by a few more people, bringing our potential member list up to 12. Again I was tempted to panic, but I gave it back to God instead. I knew that either He would come through with someone new or He would carry the two of us through. I actually found myself not caring one way or the other which way it went!
The day of the first session, I received a call from a stranger in a nearby town. She was requesting permission to attend the first session with a new member in order to help him feel more comfortable. She was familiar with this particular grief support group and had even been a facilitator for this group in her own town in the past. At the end of that first session, she came up to me and told me God had put it on her heart to make the 30 minute drive every week to co-facilitate this group....
My miracle of God was literally a perfect stranger who walked in off the street....
I think the most significant part of this miracle, however, is that it happened only AFTER I submitted the entire thing to God's hands....
God is so good! There is ALWAYS hope in Him!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author -- "Aboard God's Train -- A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer", Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
When Miracles Walk in off the Street: There is ALWAYS Hope! Part 25
Today's Bible Verse:
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13 NLT)
When Miracles Walk in off the Street: There is ALWAYS Hope! Part 25
Announcement:
Temporary volunteers needed!
The Illustrator is putting together a new template that will be friendly with your mobile devices. We are in need of a few volunteers to temporarily receive The Illustrator in the new format, in order to work out any potential bugs in the programming. If you would be willing to receive your Illustrators in both the new and the old formats for a couple of weeks, and you would be willing to send your feedback, we would be most grateful. Please email me if you would like to volunteer.
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God bless you all!
In His love,
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Illustrator
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