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Listen while you read: "Fairest Lord Jesus"1 (Lyrics) |
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person's life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. (ERV)
She was standing on the corner on a chilly February 14th, looking undecided as I came down the hill.
"I'm gonna do it!" she declared as I approached.
Yes, people talk to me on the street. When they need to talk to someone, I look harmless enough, white-headed with a walker. Every day, I ask God to lead me where He will.
"I'm goin' down to the nearest bar and get me a man!" the woman continued. "No more Valentine Days by myself!"
I sat down on my walker, folded my hands, and asked God for some words.
"Why a bar?" I said.
"There's men in 'em!" Probably at the end of her twenties, she wore a skimpy outfit.
"And that's what you want, just any man?"
She looked at me, puzzled. "Whaddya mean, 'any'?"
"I believe that God has someone picked out for each of us if we ask Him and look in the right places. Guys in bars know how to get drunk and fight and cheat on their wives."
"Well, yeah," she said, reluctantly. "Been there." Then she sighed. "My life's a real mess."
"Did you plan to say that to the bar guy? 'My life's a real mess, and I want to share it with you?'"
"Now that you put it that way…" She laughed. "So did God pick one for you?"
"I said that I'd marry the first man I found who put God first. Of course, I had to be the right person in order to find the right person."
"Okay…?"
"The one He brought had big blue eyes, kind, liked kids." I paused. "What kind of life might your kids have with a barstool guy?"
"Yeah, okay," she said. "Haven't even met him yet. Still got yours?"
"No," I said. "But we had a great fifty years. Then, God found me another."
"One after the other? You musta been livin' right?"
"Still am," I said. "You get real love when God does the choosing."
She looked down. "I know. Church, not bars. I usta go, once."
"The minister at the one over there is good to talk to." I pointed.
She looked and nodded. "But first I gotta change my outfit," she said slowly.
"The right one is worth waiting for," I said. "There's a reason that God doesn't use barstools." I held out my hand. "My name's Rose. I come up and down this hill a lot, if you want to talk again."
She said that she would, then turned around and headed back the way that she'd come.
So many of us seek love everywhere else but in the heart of God.
Prayer: Dear Father, help us to find and accept the real love that You offer Your children here on earth. Make our lives worth sharing with others as we follow Your pathways through the chaos of life. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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Tuesday, October 15, 2024 – In Paris, Ontario — Pray for the fall Alpha series that is running at Paris Community Church, Paris, Ontario, that through this ministry, people may be better connected with one another and take a step closer in faith to Jesus.
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Thank you.
Lovely story.
Great story, Rose. Thank you and Blessings!
Wonderful story, Rose. Keep up the good work.
Anne Rose. Well done good and faithful servant.
Rose, you are such a model of God’s love and grace. Thank you!
You are a wonderful witness for the Lord, Rose.
(Texas)
Bless you! And may God make you “fruitful in old age”. Oh, looks like He already has!
May that lost soul be found by Christ Jesus. Thank you for sharing this devotional with us. Blessings.
Thank you Rose for a wonderful devotion today. Your example is a great message, pointing in the upward way.
Amen Rose. If only more people could understand and employ this fact in their lives, what a different world it would be.
Blessings.
Dear Rose.
I always enjoy your devotionals, but this one really reveals your kindness and gentleness.
Someday we will meet in our Heavenly home.
Oh Rose, what a wonderful witness you are! Thanks for sharing this example and your dependence on God for direction, wisdom and words! May we who have read your words each have our ‘awareness’ heightened as a result of your sharing so that we too can be His servants as well!
Hi Rose
This was a good one also and so true. I wrote a poem one time titled Looking for love in all The Wrong places. So thankful still married to the gift God had planned for me many years ago. God is faithful. God bless.
Dear Rose,
Thank you for writing another inspiring devotional and sharing this story of your encounter with this young lady. Taking time to have a conversation with her and showing an outreach of care and concern is a great example of how Jesus cared for others.
Bless you for the kindness you extend to the people you meet.
(B.C.)
Great story and good for you for listening to the Lord.
Beautiful testimony of relying on God.
Shalom.
Good morning Rose
Good devotional, there are so many people searching, but in the wrong places.
Thank you for writing.
Rose, it’s just like having a conversation with you. As I empty my life of distractions and addictions, God lovingly fills it with glorious gifts such as your devotionals.
What a blessing you are.
Rose,
Praise God for your willingness to be open to the Spirit and be used for the Lord,
AMEN,
(CA)
Dear Rose,
Keep on witnessing to people you have opportunity to speak the word of God’s love to.
Hello Rose,
Read your devotional today and am inspired by it.
Thanks for taking the time to write about your life experiences and how you are used of God to influence the lives of those who are lost and looking.
May God bless you abundantly as you continue to serve him.
(Ontario)
Dear Rose,
I have been reading your devotionals for a long time and I’m finally getting around to telling you how much I appreciate them and look forward to them. They are always interesting and have a good message. I never look at the name of the writer until I get to the end, but I can always tell when it’s you. Even when you don’t talk about a personal experience or somebody you know, you still make it feel like a person from a book or whatever has a story you understand and one that we can all learn from.
So thank you for all your inspiration and great writing.
May God continue to bless you and your writing.