Treasure Found, Venice Fl, Nov. 9th 2011
The
senor high youth at Grace United Methodist Church set out on a mission this
past Wednesday. A mission that would take them to a realm they had never
expected.
6:15pm: Some youth show up early and begin praying, asking
God;
“Where should we go? What should we do? To
whom shall we talk?”
7:00pm: We set out broken into two teams in search of the
things we heard from God.
My team
was in search of a woman wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. We
envisioned her having a child. The term “Heartbreak” burdened our hearts.
The other
team went in search of a Mary or Joanne, wearing a purple floral dress,
somewhere near the Publix and Ross.
After a while of searching and not finding my team is about
to give up when suddenly Elizabeth Hayley say, “That lady has a kid!” Not only
did she have a child, but she was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and sandals!
We run
over to meet her, her child and her friend. All went well. Both we excited,
although we talked more with her friend than her. Toward the end of the
conversation we finally ask, “This may be too personal, but has there been any
heart break in your life recently?”
She
responds with, “Yes, my husband was just sentenced to 30 years in prison!”
God
showed up in her life that night!
The other team? Well, they had headed out to that Publix. No
luck there, they began heading for the Ross, walking distance away. About
midway they remember/notice that there is a Joannes fabric shop right in the
middle of the two stores. They begin wondering if Joannes is a place and not a
name??
Glancing
in the windows of Joannes, they see her! A woman in a purple floral dress! They
rush to meet her, asking her if her name is Mary…
“No,
its not… but my middle name is!”
BAM!! Did God just send a bunch of high schoolers out into
the city with a Person, Place, Description, and NAME?? Yes, yes He did.
They prayed for her Parkinson’s, and that ended the night.
Treasure found, mission over….. Right?
WRONG! The next morning I am sitting in my office, when
Trina, the secretary at the church comes in. She sits down and tells me…
“I just got off the
phone with a woman who wanted to be introduced as the ‘Woman in the purple
floral dress’. She said she woke up in the middle of the night, went to the
restroom, and was able to clean up the restroom TOTALLY pain free. This
morning, she said she woke up remaining pain free…”
God just rocked some peoples worlds this last Wednesday. Be
bold, be courageous, and step out!
AMEN!
