I was Wooed and Courted

 I was Wooed and Courted

By Penny Williams

 

One of my favorite memories was spending time in the Catholic Academy. Only 5 years old I did not know it was an orphanage. As an only child I yearned for the intimacy of sisters or brothers. When at the farm, my grandma taught me how to be a proper lady complete with curtseys and bows. My grandfather taught me how much fun a farm can be as I watched him work, rode on his tractor with him as he plowed those long rows and all the miraculous wonders of farm animals. With my Mother I learned that life was short, live your life now, be thankful, do not judge, and get a trade.

I have learned that all people are where they are on their life timeline, doing what they either desire, needful or what they believe is good at the time. Most appear to live without a care.  They work with what they have inside of them to reason. Place all those things jumbled together in a treasure chest and eventually they become a Holy Spirit student of a lifetime. Though my mother was an alcoholic I held nothing against her. I am my mother’s daughter.

Now you may ask how did I end up in an orphanage? That comes later. My story is not a bedtime read, but all truth, mercy, grace, ignorance, selfishness, weakness and many victories.

The very dangers and obstacles that were in my life became a bold stronghold of a shield of faith in my walk in Christ. 

“I have learned and learned well!”

This article is all about my experience with my best friend. For the first time in my short life, I was introduced to Him in the Academy sitting on sister Jane’s lap as she rocked me. She introduced me to the Holy Father, His Holy Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit. I asked questions and she answered me with the greatest patience, love, truthfully and completely. During the years up ahead, I was to think about her answers and receive the same comfort I had as a child. Her words were stained upon the canals of my heart and I believed. Her seeds fell on fertile ground. Some Oak trees take time to grow.

As the years went by with too many sins to list here, off and on I would think about the God that I had met in the orphanage. I knew in my heart that someday I would return to the God of my childhood. But when was the good time? After all, my thinking was such that I needed to clean up myself first before I approached my Holy Father.  I was a single divorced mother raising 3 sons by myself, living in a trailer and replicating the same life my mother carried out. Driving home from a bar, one night I missed the turn off to my street that would take me home. How I got home safely had to be God’s grace.

Another time, driving home once again late in the night and going around a sharp curve, I saw an oncoming car had jumped into my lane with its lights blinding me. I was headed for a head on collision if I didn’t do something quickly! I jerked the vintage 1953 VW to the left and saw the large car speed by me, then jerked the car back onto my lane and it was then that my car began to bounce and roll 3 times on the highway. While I was rolling and bouncing, I heard a lady screaming from somewhere in the dark. She must have seen what happened. Having no seatbelts in those days I was thrown out of my car alongside the highway. I laid there and couldn’t move my feet or legs. My first thoughts were, “Oh Father, please not that.”  Little by little I began to move my toes, feet and then my legs. When I stood up, the police came along with the ambulance, and they said I should not be alive. The paramedics checked me out and I was, “fine.” They were astounded and had never seen anyone survive in such an accident. I looked over at my VW and it was flattened and crushed. If I had stayed in the car, I would have been sandwiched to death as there wasn’t anything left.

 I knew this was a miracle and the next day my body was bruised from head to toe. It seemed God was getting my attention. But did I listen?

Not yet.

My point here is that I am willing to tell all the worldly things I have done if I can get your attention to listen to me.

Without going into detail, God finally got my attention. I could tell something was going on, but I didn’t really understand it at the time.  I’d had some people over and although I cannot remember who they were, except for a little blonde girl about 10 years old. Apparently, she had been watching me closely and came up to me and asked me,

“Are you a Christian?”

My mother pounded it in me to never lie. That question stopped me in my tracks. I told her,

“I didn’t know, I guess so.” 

That question made me think. It was like someone asking you if you were saved? I used to wonder about, “Saved from what?” Back then, I didn’t understand their question. I didn’t know anything about the Bible. Only that there was A Holy Father, Holy Son Jesus and a Holy Spirit, a Genisis and a Book of John and Revelation.

My Avon lady “Geri” came around and talked about Jesus. I didn’t realize her words were seeds and that they were falling on fertile ground. One day my mother and I were debeaking chickens and there was a new lady helping us out. All she talked about was Jesus and His apostles. Mother and I looked at each other. I admired her and saw something in her that I wanted. More seeds were sown and more water was given for them to grow in my heart.

In my heart I knew I was returning to the God of my childhood, but I still did not understand what was happening to me. One day I had to ask someone the question that was burning inside of me. I went to Grandma Bruces who lived around the corner. When she opened the door I asked her, “Can a Christian believe that there are evolution and creation at the same time?” She replied with a resounding, “No.” That was good enough for me! As far as I was concerned, her word was sound!

I had hesitated and was running from God. I was to discover that God wanted my attention and to be still and to listen to Him. And that is exactly what happened to me. What might you ask?  It was around Easter time when I was shattered, ashamed, broken and full of despair I knelt by my bed and prayed and confessed to the same Holy Father, I met when I was only 5 years old. I confessed to as many sins as I could remember and asked for forgiveness. When I stood up, I was a brand-new baby believer. This was before computers and cellphones. My unsaved mother gave me my first Bible, then my Avon lady gave me many books of helps to study the Bible. My cousin gave me another new Bible that I carried to Church. I had a small closet that was between my bedroom and bath and that is where I studied. I studied for hours upon hours after work. My children would not make a sound until I got up, and they became my first students. Everything I learned, I joyfully gave to them. I fell in love studying about the truth of My true Holy Father and His love, His Son Jesus who carried and fulfilled His love upon the cross and His Holy Spirit whose love continues to abide in us today. Every time I approached the word I knew I was going to meet The Holy Spirit. His words were anointed and alive as they leaped out of the pages to me. I became addicted to the love of His truth. I walked alone for miles on those old dirt roads knocking on doors to tell my neighbors about the love of Jesus. If it worked for me, it would work for anyone.

I walked into a convenient store to get something and was told that they could tell I was a Christian by my eyes.  I was forgiven and completely set free by His love! I lost all my worldly friends. To some, I had “got religion” and had gone completely insane. My neighbor mentioned that “I was going through a phase and that she will get over it.”  We attended the nearest church, and I can remember a deacon saying about me, “She will calm down soon and get over her zeal.” Listening to him, I thought to myself: “No way! Hearing those abrasive words, made me more determined to stay on the mark and prove him wrong!”

 I walked back into one of the bars I once attended and prophesied a warning to a young man that I sat next to! His eyes filled up with fear, and he could not get away from me quickly enough! That was when I discovered why I had walked into that place. No, I did not have a drink.  I became very sensitive to the leading of my best friend, “The Holy Spirit.”  I learned that it is He who taught me His truth, even while I slept. He knows my heart, knows my motives and intents and what I will say before I say it, knows what I need before I think about it. He is my best friend and knows everything about me, the past, present and future. He knows my weaknesses, my wills and He still loves me.  His character is full of love unlike anything you have ever experienced in the world. Those who believe and have humbled themselves and have surrendered their hearts to Him through repentance, experience an overwhelming power of His love and acceptance into His family. Behold, His Glorious Body of Christ!

No. We are not perfect, yet.

When you think about it:

The Body of Christ is full of ex’s.

Ex, Thieves

Ex. Prostitutes

Ex. Liars

Ex. Hypocrites

Ex. Murders

Ex. Idolaters

Ex. Adulterers

Ex. Druggies

Ex. Alcoholics

Ex. Divorced

Ex. Homosexuals

Ex. Addicts

Ex. Prideful

Ex. Pedophilias

Ex. Excessive Angers

Ex. Lust

Ex. Greed

Ex. Selfishness

When a humble repentant soul comes to Jesus with everything, he has inside of him, you begin to get deliverance from all those things. Then The Holy Spirit begins to do a deep work inside of you. This takes time. As you grow, you no longer desire any of those things, they will leave. They cannot stay inside of a vessel that is filled with God’s love, The Holy Spirit.

The realization of the heartfelt and deep forgiveness of Jesus Christ assures you with opened eyes and ears and a godly replacement from the things in the world. This means you will finally be able to have understanding. You will see everything in a new light given by The Holy Spirit. The old you no longer exists. If those in my past were to see me today, they would not be able to recognize the old worldly me that they once knew.   When this happens and you have sincerely become born-again:

He replaces your thievery with His truth and honesty.

He replaces your prostitution with a secure godly love through the Body of Christ that you never knew.

He replaces your tongue that taught you to lie with His glorious truth!

He replaces your hypocrisy and doublemindedness, to having The Fear of God!

He teaches you that if you even think about hatred toward another, you have already murdered him in your heart. You learn to walk in repentance.

He teaches you not to put anything before His will. No nothing!  Not anyone or anything!

He teaches you that should you lust after another man’s wife; you have already committed adultery in your heart. He teaches you to resist the enemy and he will flee.

He teaches you there isn’t a need to depend upon drugs anymore, because by His grace and Your faith, He is healing you right where you are at. He waits for you to ask.

He teaches you to replace your drinking with God’s love. You begin to replace alcohol with His word and become more dependent upon His will.

He teaches you to forgive those who are divorced. As two minds have hardened their hearts and walked away from their vows; they must forgive each other. We have all sinned and come short of the God’s glory.

He teaches us not to judge those in the world who have fallen into an alternative lifestyle.  Pray for them. Sin is sin in the eyes of God. When we have broken one commandment, we break them all. No one is exempt.

He will replace your worldly pride with the fruit of humility as you learn. The old you is dead and The Holy Spirit is busy remolding you into the likeness and fruit of Christ.

He replaces all self-gratifying perversity by giving you new eyes to see and experience God’s truth that will cut the strongest Oak Tree down in your life. It is all by His strength, through faith in our loving God.

He replaces your temper tantrums with a godly patience you did not know is working inside of you. Instead of burning with anger, you will be on fire for God.

He replaces all lust and gluttony freely with learning how to buffet your flesh with His word. As you learn to fear God, you will break away all those things that have been commissioned to destroy you. They become unimportant in your life.

He replaces your greed and selfishness with godly fruit of helping and giving in His love to those in need.

When you come to a full surrender with a repentant heart, your whole world is turned upside down and inside out. Nothing will ever be the same again. You will be completely unrecognizable.

With much prayer…

All those replacements will take T-I-M-E. During a whole lifetime of learning the word, listening to the word and applying God’s truth to your life. We learn many of our truths by the temptations, the struggles and the trials that we begin to go through. It could be something like our insides being turned inside out. We reveal who we are and what we are made of when we are tested. Be encouraged, the breaking will come to destroy what is needed in your life for you to see and understand where you are at in your walk.

God promises us eternal life if we believe in His son Jesus.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV

His light will expose everything that you need to get rid of.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 NIV

You become a child of the resurrection! A child of God!

There are countless of scriptures that promise you eternal life if you give your heart to Jesus. Everything changes for the good.

 

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father,

I believe that Jesus was the complete sacrifice upon the cross so I could have forgiveness of my sins. I believe he was resurrected on the third day and seen by at least 500-600 people and continued to teach. I believe He was sent to be my Savior. I know I am a sinner and I need help. I ask that You would please forgive my sins. {name them}_____.  Forgive me, Father, and take them away and deliver me from all of them. I need You, I need Your help, Your direction and need Your love in my life.

In Jesus name I ask, amen.

If you have prayed this prayer in all sincerity, I welcome you into the Kingdom of God and into His family. If you do not have a good Bible, they give them away in the thrift stores. Find a good Bible believing church and get connected with a study group as learn and grow, they will pray for you as you when you face trials.

Congratulations