Upon meeting someone new, one of the first questions Matthew and I can be guaranteed to be asked is, "How did you two meet?" It is not a short and sweet answer and I often offer the warning of a lengthy reply when asked. Several of you may know the story but for the rest I offer it here to read at your leisure.
I have been a Christian for a long time and have had the privilege of ministering to many teens from the mid 90s to around 2002. After that I moved out of Green County to Barren County. I managed one of the local Subway shops and enjoyed it very much. However, in early 2004 the Lord began stirring my spirit. I did not understand what He was doing. I thought I needed to find another job. The more time that passed the more I felt like a big fish in a small pond. I decided to quit my job and find another one. Interestingly, I gave up being manager to become the assistant manager at another Subway. I was only there three days and I knew without a doubt I was not suppose to be there.
I quit after three days and eventually arrived to the conclusion that I needed to learn how to live by faith. I remembered my teens and wanted to set a true example of what it meant to live by faith. With that in mind and prayer as my guide I decided to leave home and go to Louisiana. I did not know anyone in the state but I knew of a good church there. I purposed that I would sleep in my Jeep and find work somehow.
I left with less than $200 to my name and two small bank notes still needing to be paid. I had little confirmations given to me that encouraged me to take the full plunge of leaving everything and everyone behind. I loaded my Jeep with blankets, pillows, snacks and other essentials and headed out on my way. It took me ten and a half hours to reach my destination. Upon arrival I decided to rent a very cheap motel to get a shower and one good sleep.
Once I was in my room the world suddenly got bigger all around me. I arrived on a Tuesday. The next morning I immediately went out to put in applications at Subway. That evening I went to church. The church was large and had multiple classes. I chose a class but when the pastor learned I was 30 and single he directed me to the Singles Class upstairs. My immediate thought was, "Great. A meat packing plant." Nonetheless I obliged.
The first person I met that night was, Leila, a lady from Australia. She was on her own faith journey in obedience to the Holy Spirit. We instantly clicked and decided to have lunch together the next day. Over lunch we discovered that we shared a very similar walk of life and it seemed we were kindred spirits. She had mentioned during our time at church that she would love to visit Kentucky and the southern states. I simply replied that if she decided to go I could call my family and they would be happy to host her stay. As it turned out, her actual host family that she was staying with had recently given her the news that they needed her room back. She was going to have to find a motel or alternate accommodation.
Let me point out here that the urgency I had to leave home met in equal time to when Leila was being asked to leave. I did not know that but the Lord did.
Somehow, during our lunch on the Thursday we agreed to travel together, in spite of my financial lack. We left Friday morning and never looked back. We travelled seven weeks together with the last three being spent with my family in Kentucky. She financed it all. If you want a tough lesson in having to receive help, try having to have all your meals, fuel and lodging paid for my someone else for this length of time. That was tough. I was a GIVER. I seldom relied on anyone. However, during our time of travel I was offered some sage advice. "If you can't receive the little things from God, how are you going to be able to receive the big things?" It made sense but I did not like it.
While travelling, Leila would say, "Why don't you come to Australia and see what God has for you there?" I would reply, "If God makes a way then I'll go."
Once we were back in Kentucky I prayed one Saturday. My prayer went something like this: "Lord, everyone says you are trying to teach me how to receive. I don't like this lesson and I want it over, so whatever You got, I'll take it." Short, sweet and to the point. Later that night my phone rang. The person was a friend that I had a rocky friendship with. To sum it up, he told me he wanted to finance my trip to Australia. He said if I paid him back then great, and if not he would chalk it up to his stupidity. He asked for my answer.
I told him if my previous prayer was a little bit colder (meaning more time had gone by) I would say no, but I did tell God whatever He had I would take it. Reluctantly I agreed. This friend went over and beyond his offer. He paid off my two bank notes and gave me both a credit card and a debit card for cash.
So let's RECAP: On April 7th, a Tuesday, I left home. On Wednesday I met Leila. On the Thursday we had lunch and on Friday we began travelling. Seven weeks later I am funded for international travel. That is how it all began.
TO BE CONTINUED...
No comments:
Post a Comment