She Heard Him!
She heard Him!
I’ve known Betsy since she was seven years old, that’s why when her husband Derek asked if I would share in her memorial service this week I told him that it would be a “difficult honor” for me! Well, it’s been said that we all ought to live our lives so that the preacher won’t have to make good things up at our funeral. My problem was not coming up with enough good and even wonderful things to say and to share about Betsy, but rather in knowing what to leave out!
Well, the things most profound for me have been the two experiences that she has shared with me about hearing from God. The first of the remarkable experiences happened some years ago in the stairwell of our church building when she was struggling with her health and anxious over her husband losing his job.
Betsy was alone in the stairwell, or so she thought, when she was surprised by a voice and the clear words: “Why do you think I won’t take care of you?”When she turned and looked around no one was there, and yet she suddenly realized that Someone was there. The same One who, ever since she was a little girl, had promised never to fail or forsake her.
The second experience is the one she shared with me and that I wrote about in chapter ten of the Discovery Journal. It’s the introduction on: “Live Gratefully.” I just happened to walk by her office a couple of years ago and once again was remembering how God had spoken clearly, and audibly in the stairwell nearby. We celebrated that several times over the years as a marker moment. That’s when she told me of a second time that God spoke.
This time God spoke not audibly but no less personally and powerfully. Betsy had been hospitalized for a week when doctors, unable to identify the cause of her symptoms, transferred her to a larger hospital. She was deeply discouraged the day she arrived there by ambulance. Betsy’s new nurse, a young believer from Kenya, introduced herself as “Olive.” She explained she’d chosen her American name because she felt her African name was too difficult for Americans to pronounce. Realizing how discouraged Betsy was, Olive said something surprising. “You know, there are many people in my country who would happily trade places with you!”
That stunning statement instantly shifted Betsy’s perspective. She immediately started seeing the blessings that surrounded her even in the hospital: A loving husband. A gifted medical staff. A private room, air conditioning, a clean bathroom, even hot water!
Betsy’s attitude of intentional, determined gratitude was accelerated that day. Betsy said that the Olive branch was a gift from God and an agent of peace. Betsy later reflected that just as an olive branch is a symbol of peace, a nurse named Olive provided Betsy with a clear sign that God was with her. And curiously, they never saw nurse Olive again. They considered her a messenger from God - an angelic presence!
Henry Blackaby once said: “The Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and the church to reveal God’s purposes and His ways.” Betsy knew, as most of us are learning, that God is incessantly speaking to us all, reminding us all that this life is going somewhere, we are not alone and He is not silent.
He is always with us and He is always speaking to us! He is always present whether it’s in a season of fear or a situation of pain, whether in an empty stairwell or hospital bed - there is nowhere He is not. And there is no time that He is not speaking.
What might He be saying to you?
Grace & Peace,