In early 1997, my husband, a very compassionate leader type person, took his first trip overseas. He was on a mission to Romania to scope out an area for Life International, a pro-life ministry, to start a crisis pregnancy center. He had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. He just knew someone had asked for help from that nation and since he was the board chairman and had the funds to make the trip, he was selected.
When he returned home, he slapped his passport on the kitchen counter and said, “There, that’s done and I’m not going again!” Whoa! He told me he had experienced a wonderful trip but didn’t like the international travel part of it. He wanted to be on American soil and made up his mind that was where he could be used best.
Well, when he said “No” to God’s plan for his life, I don’t think God was very happy about it because after that day, it seemed the desire, the need, and the urgency for Tom to go back just grew. Within just a few months he was packing again, wondering just what the purpose of this trip would be. He was on his way to a pro-life conference in Hungary instead of Romania.
Little did he know that God was using this ministry trip to change his life forever. In the conference he was introduced to a young lady named Ana. Ana was just over twenty when they met and her story turned Tom inside out. Ana’s father was a drunk and a wife-beater. He had raped his beautiful daughter and put the fear of men in her. She didn’t trust any man. When Tom saw that scared rabbit look in her eyes as he listened to her story, his heart broke. He wanted to help her but didn’t know how, so he began praying that God would use him.
Ana had come to the conference because she wanted to start a crisis pregnancy center in her town, up in the northern region of Romania. She had some college training in counseling but needed more information. Tom took her under his wing and there began our first experience with Romania’s hurting women. When he came home from this trip I could see he was changed. I could see what God was doing in him and wondered where it would lead.
Years later, now that Tom is gone, I see the path God chose for him so clearly. He needed to be a father to the fatherless and show a father’s love to Europe’s lost daughters. Ana was not the only daughter; there’s Rosie and her three children—Ana, Raluca, and Innes. There’s Felicia from Romania, Olesea from Moldova, and Laryssa from Ukraine. Ana, Felicia, and Olesea were eventually brought to the USA and attended Christian universities. Ana and Felicia are married to wonderful Christian men and each has two lovely children I call my grandchildren. They are happy and have learned how to trust God in trusting their husbands, all because one man was willing to show them the Father’s love.
So are you saying “No” to God about something right now? Have you looked beyond your current circumstances and wondered where saying “Yes” could take you? With the finality of saying “No” you might be missing the greatest blessing of your life!
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