I have loved the Lord since I was a little girl. My biggest mentor was my mom. She loved the Lord so much, and I always wanted to love Him the way she did. She always took me to church and to Vacation Bible School, and everyday we read the Bible and prayed together.
Mom listened to Christian radio everyday too, and I would pick up bits of truth as I passed through the room, or as I sat eating,...or when I was doing homework at the dining room table, and I could hear the preaching on those radio programs.
Also when I was in the car with mama, Christian radio was always on with good music and good teachings. Her faith was affecting me as a child, because she was living it in front of me, and she was always discussing with me, the goodness of the Lord.
My mom would use object lessons in life to make God's love and power more real to me. Things like watching the flower bulbs that we'd planted when they started poking up through the ground. I would marvel as I watched them grow and bloom and mom would say it was an example of God's life giving power.
She would tell me about the power of the Lord as we'd watch the ocean move back and forth, and she would draw to my attention the fact that God kept it within it's bounds. She would always be telling me these kinds of things, and so I learned from a young age that God was in control of everything! Mom would bring to my attention the miracle of birth as I held my new little niece in my arms. She brought God into view with these life lessons that she taught me. She was always following His lead!
I in turn have tried to pass these thoughts on to my daughters and granddaughters,...and my grandsons too, as we observe life together, and view it's many miracles. We have had many wonderful discussions over the years about the majesty of God.
The Lord has brought many people across my path through the years that needed encouragement and I have been able to share my faith with them. There have been a few younger women who were going through trials and I have been blessed to have been able to share encouragement with them from an older woman's perspective. I have been able by God's grace, to offer other means of help and care to them as God provided opportunity and means.
Women have been willing to listen to me sometimes because of the trials I have gone through, because they knew that God was with me during those trials, and that I had found the victory through the Lord. I have given the glory to God for the ways that He has comforted me and helped me through the struggles of my life. I am so thankful that God's love is available to each of us in every situation.
I feel led to also help people who need it by offering my daughter's book to those who are facing life and death situations. Situations like the loss of babies and children. The book tells them of God's faithfulness to her during the loss of three of her children. It is called, "In Faithfulness He Afflicted Me", by Lynnette Kraft, and it is available through Amazon.com. Actually it is an encouraging book and can be a blessing to whoever reads it.
I feel led to pray for women who have unsaved husbands, because my husband was unsaved for many years of our marriage. I prayed for him for 15 years before he became a Christian. Women find hope when they hear the story of my husband's salvation and it helps them to know that there is always the hope that their husbands will be saved too.
I think all of life can bring opportunities to witness, and to mentor people. But sometimes we don't take advantage of those opportunities. When we don't open our hearts to care, and our mouths to share, I think we grieve the Holy Spirit by not following His lead. I haven't always heeded His prompting, and I always feel guilty when I know I have missed an opportunity.
We need to be sensitive to His promptings and step out in faith to follow His lead, and to live our faith in front of others. We need to reach out and help others as the Holy Spirit leads us.
