God's Amazing Ways, Part III

Part III begins. The ladies and I have been meeting for about nine months now. Early in the spring we had a tea party that we opened up to some of our acquaintences. We prayed for months in advance to see who the Lord wanted us to invite. We had chicken a la king, asparagus, cheesecake with fresh strawberries, and of course----TEA. It wasn't an overtly 'spiritual' event, but we told all the ladies exactly what the three of us did every Thursday and invited them to come any time they chose to. One of the ladies has been very regular in meeting with us. She came to the Lord many years prior but has had no one to help her along in the faith or walk it out with her. She is growing and spending a lot of time with one of our group during the week, just being mentored and learning what it is to be a christian wife and mom.



This summer we hosted another informal get-together with lemonade and strawberry shortcake. It was a great time of just getting to know some of those that we have been praying for. Some are not believers, some are starting to ask questions, some are younger christians, and some are mature in their faith.



This summer we haven't been consistent with Thursdays....vacations, kids home from college, car troubles, etc. But we have been consistently praying for each other & each others' families and keeping tabs on what is going on in each others' lives.



This next part may not be a huge deal to you but this is just an example of how God takes care of our children when we pray for direction in their lives. My first friend I told you about has 3 sons. One of them is a young adult who is an extremely gifted athlete who also loves the Lord with all his heart. He has been trying out for teams all around this region and the doors keep closing for no apparent reason....the talent is there. This spring he was to the point of wondering if it was time to quit the sport between discouragement and some very lonely times on the team. He's a very outspoken believer and sometimes it was very difficult for him. The other guys would bring nearly pornographic movies on the bus, the talk was certainly not particularly wholesome and as a result he spent a lot of time with his headphones on and his eyes closed. He was upright and didn't fall to temptation.

Well, we have all been praying for direction for him. He found a team a little further out west and they love him. He decided to go play for them and possibly attend classes at a nearby university. The guys all stay with local families while they're with the team. His family drove him out there last week. Her son got talking to some of the other young men on the team and one said something about all the people that these guys are staying with wanting them to go to church with them on Sundays. He asked a few more questions and talked to the owner of the team. It turns out that the owner is a believer who acquired the team to reach young men for Christ. They run a tight ship, all of the families that the guys stay with are believers, and they just share their lives with them. How awesome is that???? So tell me, Why am I surprised when things like this happen? Here is this kid...looking to play his sport to the glory of God, actively sharing his faith over and over again with his teammates up until this point, and God plops him right in the middle of this team! They had NO idea that this team was like this before they went out there. Now he can have the opportunities to witness to his teammates and be in a great environment as well. Sometimes I can almost imagine God saying, 'Come ON Karen---did you really think I wasn't going to come through this time?'

Ephesians3:20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.