Truly Blessed to Witness the Awesome Love and Power of God at Work!
After being so blessed to witness the awesome love and power of God at work as women from around the country gathered together this past weekend in the home of one of our members in Houston, and shared the word of their testimonies and how God is working in their hearts, lives and marriages for their good and His glory, I feel a renewed sense of how vitally important it is to reach out to others who are so desperately seeking comfort and guidance while experiencing the pain and despair of marital separation and divorce.
While there are indeed so many blessings associated with doing the work God has called me to, none matches the blessing of witnessing the amazing transforming love and power of Jesus Christ at work in the heart and life of another human being; which I experienced from a totally different perspective this past weekend as I was blessed to meet and spend time with the mother of the young woman who hosted our FAM Reunion. And now that I’ve had time to “be still” after returning home from a pretty hectic weekend, and reflect on the events of the weekend and all that God revealed, I realize that God intended and used that blessed experience to remind me even more powerfully than ever before of how the work of marriage restoration goes so much beyond just the restoration of marriages and immediate families and how He uses the work done in the hearts, lives and marriages of the men and women involved in FAMM in ways far exceeding anything we could ever think or imagine.
Since it tends to be emotionally overwhelming, I don’t allow myself to consider the work being done through FAMM on a personal level; yet that was totally unavoidable as MNO’s (member name omitted) mother poured out her heart and shared her heart felt appreciation and gratitude for seeing her precious daughter transformed from a time when she was “curled up in the fetal position and not wanting to go on” to the vivacious, confident and joy filled young mother who so graciously hosted a group of women from around the country who she had never met before in her home. Hearing the passion and joy in that mother’s heart and being showered with the intensity of her gratitude were truly overwhelming and perhaps even life changing for me in some way I probably can’t even express or yet fully fathom. Needless to say, we all cried as we shared our total awe in witnessing the miraculous transformation God has made in MNO as a young Christian woman in general and as a mother and wife in particular. MNO’s mother had been praying for this transformation for years and just couldn’t contain her joy and excitement, so I reminded her that while her daughter’s involvement in FAMM was the means God used, it was in fact her prayers and faith that brought about the work God was ever so faithful to do in her daughter’s heart and life.
MNO’s mother wept as she shared how helpless and inadequate she felt to comfort, console and encourage her daughter in her darkest days, but then her awe and amazement as she started sharing how she felt as she saw the changes in her daughter were just as evident, and almost overwhelming on another level. And it drew me right back to the passion that initially led me to establish this ministry so many years ago; reminding me that there are so many hurting people who are just as much in need and how the Lord has called me to reach out to them and share His love and faithfulness to heal and restore broken marriages…NO MATTER WHAT. And as He is always so faithful to do, God confirmed that message to me in more ways than one upon my return home.
The first one was through a post Dan published while I was out of town, entitled ” Whose Journey Are We On?” It’s quite powerful so I’ll be publishing it here as well, and it reminded me that our call to ministry isn’t “our” journey either. So I have to stop allowing concern that I won’t be able to handle things if the ministry keeps growing (we currently have more than two-hundred-fifty members) to justify a lack of “outreach” on the public website. The Lord had actually been “talking” to me about that before now, which is why I’ve recently made a more concerted effort to get something posted on the public site from time to time. And then on Monday, I received notification from PayPal of a donation to the ministry from someone I don’t even know, which included the following note: “Just wanted to thank you for all the help I found on your website when I was in crisis. Thanks to the information and prayers I found there, I am experiencing healing and restoration in my marriage. God bless you and your ministry.”
So, with all of that and the responses of the women this past weekend when I asked how they found the ministry, why they joined and how long it took them to join, and hearing how much more they’ve experienced above what they expected after joining, I feel a renewed commitment to more ministry outreach through the public website and any other means the Lord might bring to mind! And I’m looking forward to seeing how HE will handle things as I continue on HIS journey and hope and fully expect that many more will be blessed and encouraged in the Lord along the way! SO GET READY…GOD IS MOVING!!!