Picture of Your Love

317 returns

It’s been over 6 months since I’ve received a call from an anonymous 317 number. I was sitting in starbucks, doing some work and my phone rang. the 6 month string was broken. I figured it had to be important because I didn’t just give my number out to the world..infact.. like no one. Maybe that’s why I never get any phone calls haha. Anyways, these past weeks have been a roller coaster- mostly me internally battling God’s request to be still and rest. It is my biggest weakness. So, my pathetic effort to be at rest, I was working. But back to the phone call. Upon hitting send, I heard my name exclaimed from the other side of the phone… and I didn’t recognize the voice until she told me. It was a woman from where I worked back in Indianapolis (when I was actually employed). *flash back* She’d been in a really hard place and turned to alcohol, when she came back into our area in cubicle land, about half way through my time there. She has the best heart… so funny.. but still in hard place..

The last time I saw her, I wrote her a little thing and paired it with a CD of worship music. Why? I don’t know.. just felt like it was fitting for the occassion. I was leaving, she was staying.. why not throw some straight God at people before I wasn’t there to do it again. Kind of the final hurah. It had been heavy on me to do something for the specified individuals.. . feb 08. Spirit of God fell in that place, upon her that day… its always great when the mention of what Jesus is to you, it begins a flow of story about what Jesus used to mean to people.. and they don’t even know how they got to where they are now. That’s what happened that day. A salvation and baptism flooded back after near 35 years. The assumption that it was “too late” was destroyed..hope restored. I didn’t hold on to it too long because I was ushered into the next thing fairly quickly. I thought the vividness of that day, I would never forget.. her face/words/the point for change that day.

Until today when it again came flooding back to me in her voice. She began to tell me that she carried the note around to this day, was listening to the CD, and hasn’t had a drink since that Februrary day. PRAISE GOD! She’d found the picture of her baptism when she first came to the Lord, paired it with Romans 8:28 -

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

She was sitting in the parking lot of her church, waiting for the retreat seminars to begin. She dove into God. I didn’t recognize her voice because she literally wasn’t the same. In her words, “I’ve found so much peace..” I teared up because the woman I saw before me in Feb 08 was so far from peace. She parted with an “I love you, I just needed to say thank you.”

It’s not often God allows you to see the fruit of your obedience… but when He does, OH MY GOSH – THANK HIM FOR IT.