Happy Monday, Guys!
I just wanted to share with you how God worked through me this past week. God is so cool y’all. He works in such unexpected ways and places things in front of us that we sometimes can’t see as blessings until after the fact.
Saturday morning I was sitting in my Grandmother’s (Granny Dot) living room reading an amazing testimony by Scottie Barnes. She is my uncle’s mother-in-law who created Forgiven Ministry Inc, a program that meets the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of the children of inmates and the inmates themselves,with the result of healing wounds inflicted by crime, redirecting lives, and restoring these individuals into the community as productive citizens, parents and family members. If you have never heard of it or her I highly recommend checking out her page at forgivenministry.org and reading her AMAZING testimony.
So I’m sitting in Granny’s living room, sipping on some coffee, and reading Scottie’s book. Then out of the blue Granny asks me to sing to her. For those of you who don’t know me very well, I’m no Alicia Keys unless I’m in the shower and I most certainly don’t sing in front of people. So imagine the shock and fear factor that came over my body.
Now for those of you who don’t know, Granny Dot has been in really bad health the last few weeks. She’s been given 3-6 months to live and Satan has really been trying to wiggle himself to steal her joy and bring her discomfort. Given Granny’s state, she can’t be left alone, so my mom and her siblings along with other family members and myself have been taking turns staying the night with her and doing whatever is needed to bring Granny as much comfort as we can.
What Granny endures day to day is no cake walk. She has good days and bad. But what a joy and blessing it has been to spend this time with her. I’m so thankful that God has given all of us this time to visit with her, listen to her stories, play games, write cards, and just sit in each others presence. Not everyone is given this kind of opportunity so it has been my goal not to squander it.
So back to my American Idol performance in the living room. Although it initially brought me discomfort to do something I’m not confident about, I looked at Granny and it was so easy to read on her face how excited she was. She didn’t care if I could carry a tune or not, she just wanted someone to sing for her. So I very nervously sang Amazing Grace while avoiding any eye contact because I was afraid to catch any dissatisfaction in Granny’s eyes. However, when I did sneak a few peeks, she was rejoicing with her eyes closed and her hands raised.
I know this isn’t a “monumental testimony” but I felt moved to share it because I think we sometimes ignore the little moments and opportunities God gives us that can turn into lasting memories. I could have changed the subject, or walked out of the room, or done anything to get out of singing, but I didn’t. I chose to let God use me in unexpected, uncomfortable ways that gave my grandmother a few minutes of joy and peace and gave me a memory of her that I will cherish.
Philippians 3:3
For it is we who serve God by his spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.
