At the age of ten, I did not know a thing about the Lord
and all of his glory. The year of my fifth grad I had gotten the worst
news ever, my mother had cancer. I remember when my brother asked the
question that made my heart jump, he asked "Mom, can you die from
this?" In her answer she replied that it could kill her, but God
will be with her every step of the way.
My mother ended up passing away only months after. I was so scared to
be a girl without a motherly figure around. I told my father that I wanted
to attend a church whenever we got settled into our new house that we
had moved into, just after my mothers death. He agreed, but it was so
hard adjusting, that all we had time to do was worry.
My father started to date, and soon after I had a step-mother. She attended
the First Church of God, in which now I attend. I started to attend there
once in a while, whenever I had time. Now, I can't miss a chance to be
in the house o
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"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ." -
I Corinthians 15:55-57
Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived. Weeks passed
and the twins developed. As their awareness gew, they laughed for joy:
"Isn't it great that we were conceived? Isn't it great to be alive?"
Together the twins explored their world. When they found
their mother's cord that gave them life, they sang for joy! "How great
is our mother's love, that she shares her own life with us!"
As weeks stretched into months, the twins noticed how
much each was changing. "What does it mean?" asked one.
"It means our stay in this world is drawing to an end."
said the other.
I had the privilege of going back to Romania for the fourth time. In
1994 & 95. My wife and I went with a group from our church. Then
in 1996, my wife, our 19-year-old son, and I went and conducted children's
rally in Buzau Romania. I went back in September of 1996. This trip
was a very unusual trip. First of all, I am not a preacher, nor have
I ever felt the call to preach. Yet, God permitted me to give 19 messages
(sermons) during these two weeks in Romania. Two of these sermons were
for a five year old little girl. This is the story I would like to share
with you. I pray that it will be a blessing.
CAMELLIA
The first three days of the trip were filled with fear, as I felt evil
surrounding me. I wanted to run, to escape. I tried unsuccessfully to
catch a flight home. With the pastor praying for me, God showed me a
new direction.
I know you're tired. I know you feel overwhelmed. You
may feel as though this crisis, this problem, this hard time will last
forever.
It won't. You are almost through.
You don't just "think" it has been hard; it has been
hard. You have been tested, tried, and retested on what you have learned.
Your beliefs and your faith have been tried in fire.
You have believed, then doubted, then, worked at believing some more.
You have had to have faith even when you could not see or imagine what
you were asked to believe. Others around you may have tried to convince
you not to believe in what you were hoping you could believe.
You have had opposition. You have not gotten to this
place with total support and joy. You have had to work hard, in spite
of what was happening around you. Sometimes, what motivated you was
anger; sometimes fear.
