Has God placed people in your life at the right time to teach
or to comfort or to pray when you needed it most? In the early 90’s I was just
getting to know Jesus when I volunteered to train to become a Stephen minister.
This is a well-organized ministry based in St. Louis, and is now used in over
400,000 churches worldwide, training men and women to do one-on-one crisis
ministry.
I completed my training
and my pastor at the time set up my first meeting with a woman dying of stomach
cancer. As I moved slowly up her front walk, I was visibly shaking. I was not
equipped. What would I say? The training vanished from my thoughts as I softly
knocked on her door. Her husband let me in, walked back out to do errands and
left me in a tongue-tied stupor with a sick stranger.
I need not have
worried. God placed Eleanor in my life to train me! Oh, I tried my best. She
smiled, encouraged, and taught me how to be joy-filled and at peace as she got
ready to meet Jesus. What an amazing blessing she was to me. Jesus placed her
in my life at just the right time. She was so patient with me. This verse
describes Eleanor.
Therefore,
as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
To the very end, her
blue eyes continued to sparkle and she always insisted on a satin bed robe and
having her hair brushed before company arrived. She meandered in and out of a
deep sleep over the last few weeks and when she awoke, she would often say, “I
was just with Jesus and it was wonderful!”
The night before
Eleanor died, she called me and said, “It won’t be long now. Don’t you worry
about me. I am going to a party with Jesus. I love you.” She died the next
morning, leaving a legacy and a continuing testimony through all of us who knew
her. Even in her last hours, she was praising God and looking forward to being
with Him.
She
speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26
God’s perfect
timing is seen as He places the right circumstances and the right people in the
right places to save a soul, to offer forgiveness, to teach with patience, to
heal with hope. His ways are miraculous. Tell your stories. Share your history
with Jesus. Our stories, His gospel, are needed. Those holes in the hearts of
the people we love are waiting to be filled with Jesus, the living bread and
water. People like Eleanor can show us the way.
Dear Father in heaven,
Your ambassadors are everywhere. Teach us from Your word and
from the witness of others how to continue Your work in the world around us.
In Jesus name.
Amen
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