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| My dinning room |
I feel I should be sharing this but am not sure how to start
or not make it trite. I mentor two women
– V and T. They have two very different
personalities and are different places in their walk with the Lord. V is in her 40s and T is in her late 20s
inching close to 30. We meet in my
dinning room that has a little sitting area with two nice (though quite worn)
high back antique chairs. I meet weekly
with them, V on Tuesday nights and T on Wednesday nights.
V and I have met for 2 years now. It came about quite casually in conversation
that she would love to have someone meet with her and I have a heart for
working with women to help them grow in the Lord. Our meetings started the following week. V
struggled through the first year not being able to absorb the Words of God
easily and certainly not being able to grasp Biblical concepts well. We discussed that she possibly had ADD
problems and I credited much to that.
Though she was not absorbing the Word without much effort we could see how
she progressed in her walk with the Lord.
V struggled with her husband.
They talked rudely and sarcastically to each other. We reviewed that in
Ephesians (5:33) God through Paul tells wives to respect their husband and we prayed
she could find ways to respect him no matter how small they may seem. We reviewed her victories each week…how often
she read the Bible, how often she prayed, did she have a kind word to say to
her husband, did she succeed in not gossiping at work, etc. All the little things we struggle with daily
that add up to straying from the Lord or drawing closer to Him
When she felt guilty for not praying, reading or being kind
to her husband I stressed that she needed to let go of the guilt. That Satan would love for her to condemn
herself and immobilize her by making her feel like a failure. That is why I always emphasize learn from our
slip ups, focus on our victories. Let
God have the glory.
Our little spot in the two old worn chairs became a place of
security to V and awe to me. I saw God
work in many ways that it is almost too overwhelming to explain. I think of Jesus’ disciples who tried to
write a synopsis of His ministry and I understand how overwhelming that must
have been. And in my own little way
relate to John who wrote:
Jesus did many other things as well. If
every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would
not have room for the books that
would be written. John 21:25
Some time after we had been meeting over a year, she shared
that she was not convinced she was going to heaven. This puzzled me because I had been confident
in her salvation but she wasn’t. The
next meeting we walked through the “*Romans
Road” topped off with John 3:16. (If you are not familiar with these verses,
they are at the end of this article.)
I had V read each verse out loud several times. And I ask her questions after each. Is this the truth? How do you know that? She affirmed Yes and that God does not
lie. I’d ask if God was the same
yesterday, today and tomorrow? Yes. When we reached John 3:16 I continued to ask
the same questions and added: Are you going to heaven? She said yes.
Then I asked why. She stated she
believed in Jesus and confesses her sin.
I’d say again and she would reread the verse…followed by the same
questions. We did this possibly 6 or 7
times when she said “I feel warm all over”.
V visibly looked different. A
peace had descended on her. It was a
beautiful sight and a privilege that God allowed me to be a part of.
Now before you begin thinking that I am a person who
believes in “feelings” or emotional experiences to know God is working, I am
not. I never had an experience such as V
that reassured me of my salvation. I
have full confidence in my salvation through my belief in Christ. I strongly feel it is a gracious blessing of
the Lord when we get that feeling of being encompassed by Him but it is not a
necessity to faith.
After that day, V changed.
She had a hunger and thirst for God’s Word. Passages that she struggled with were clear
to her. It was as if her mind had been
in a fog and the Spirit of the Lord brought clarity to her. Each week is an awesome experience seeing how
God works in her life and during our time together. He will grant me words and insights that
specifically speak to where V is at that day. As we read God’s word, He brings
it to life how it applies to her (and me).
V’s life is in change.
I had her write her goals down a while back and we review them each
week. One was to find a new career…it
just happened last week. Another was to
re-build a relationship with her husband…she has found “fun” and joy in her
relationship with him. Her primary goal
of drawing closer to God is unfolding before us weekly.
And one of the goals I presented V with when we first began
meeting is that one day she will invest in another woman as I have with her and
become the mentor. Last week was the
first time she said she thought she could do it! How great is that?
From 7 to 9pm on Tuesday nights I am blessed
incredibly. I almost feel those worn out
chairs are sacred ground for God works in a mighty way when V and I sit, talk
about the week, read God’s Word and pray together. What makes it even more special is on
Wednesday nights at the same time in the same chairs, God meets with T and I
with still more amazing results! (That will be a post for another day.)
*The "Romans Road" are selected verses from the Bible that give you a quick Biblically solid path to salvation through Christ. They are: Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10 and I add John 3:16
