HIS FACE IN MY JOURNEY
A Day of Salvation
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other... 1 Thessalonians 3:12a
After Hurricane Irene, I checked up on an old college friend who lived down south. She had not been affected by
the storm, but during our correspondence she shared news of her recent separation from her husband. I was sad
to hear the news and wanted to bless her with my love and support. My husband would be traveling soon for
business, so I invited her to hop on a plane and come spend a girls weekend with me. I hadn't seen this friend in
22 years and we had only emailed occasionally, so when she said YES, I had a feeling that God was in it. I was so
excited to see her! I asked the Lord to bless our time and to help me be a witness to her, but I did not have any grand expectations. She planned to visit family as well, so I would only have her for 24 hours and I had no idea how it would go.
She arrived late afternoon on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, a Sunday. She and my children immediately took to one another and it felt as if she was part of our family. I took her out to dinner and we talked about all she had been going through. Then, she asked me to share what I had gone through with cancer. I told her my story, and when I finished, she said, "Wow, I want that kind of faith." At that moment, I knew that her heart was open and that the Lord was indeed in this! My spirit flipped into back handsprings!
Later that night we reminisced about our college days, and she went to bed exhausted from her travels. I stayed up for another hour or so praying and reading scripture, petitioning the Lord on her behalf. The next morning, I contacted four friends and asked them to pray for her. I truly believed that this would be the day of her salvation! When she awoke, our conversation naturally turned back to God, and we spent hours talking about Him. She said that she had been thinking in the past month about looking for a new church. I smiled at God's perfect timing.
We had a great discussion as I shared scripture, my experiences and encounters with
God, and the gospel message. And she invited the Lord into her life! I was amazed!
Delighted! In awe of what God had done! I had invited this friend into my home with the
simple desire to love her, but the Lord multiplied that love and breathed eternal life into it! I was
in awe at how perfectly He orchestrated the moment.
As she left my house, she said that she felt more peaceful than usual - confirmation that a spiritual transaction
had indeed been made and sealed in heaven!
I never anticipated that sharing my story about cancer would lead someone to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. What an unexpected but glorious gift from above! I realized that the test of my faith during cancer was key to proving my faith genuine - to myself - so that I could boldly share it with others. I do not know how God will continue to use my story, but I am filled with fresh hope and expectancy that others will come to know Him because of it!
