Published by Sandy on 22 Feb 2008
Whatcha Doing Here?
This girl doesn’t generally get out at night; she just likes to be at home when it’s dark. She picked up a flyer in the foyer of the church and stuck it in her Bible. It said something about Women’s Resource Center of Bradford County. Hum…., that’s where she lives. She’ll read it later. Later came the following morning when she settled into her prayer chair. She was impressed. They had a strategic plan and God led them to Bradford County. They pray and use their brains at the same time. Something that seems sadly lacking in our Christian community today.
She set it aside to seek God’s face and find grace for the day. Her prayer time is Rich and Rewarding. She loves to petition and receive from Heaven. She just goes boldly to the Throne, and God does not tire of her continual coming. She is always welcome. It’s almost like God has her coffee fixed, just like she likes it. She’s betting that He enjoys her as much as she enjoys Him. She talks and HE listens; then He talks and she listens. He’s a strategic planner and very smart and she’s not, what a partnership!
This flyer hung around her prayer chair for weeks. It never found the trash bin. Then the announcement that Dottie was coming to speak at the Church. Who’s Dottie? She’s wondering. Oh…yeah, Dottie is connected to that Flyer that keeps hanging around, like it still has something to say. This girl had read the flyer at least 10 times, and it always said the same thing. Still, there seemed to be something more. When God acts like that in her life, He’s up to something. She would venture out in the dark and glean what she could.
Dottie came, we worshipped and she spoke, and it was good. It was about saving babies, and helping girls who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. On the drive home, she’s pondering about the Women’s Resource Center. It’s right here in Starke. It’s during the day. She wondered if she could fit in and help. The next day, she made the call, and decided she would visit, to kinda get a feel for the atmosphere. Wow!!, was she ever impressed. The girls are young, and have such a heart for the ministry. Their character seems superior. She immediately volunteered some of her time.
Discontent that she would no longer be able to spend quality time on her Thursday mornings with God, she told Betsy she would only be available from noon on Thursday, and shared why. Betsy immediately asked her if she would be the prayer cover for the Center. That was like saying, Sik ‘em to a hound dog! Would she cover the Center in Prayer? Huh! On the insides, she was turning flips. Wow!, now she knows why that flyer seemed to have a mind of it‘s own.
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, Matt 18:20. She needed prayer warriors. Without hesitation, Irene and Shirley made themselves available. We have watched God answer so many prayers. It has been a wonderful experience for all of us. One answered prayer that caught us off guard was when Betsy asked us to pray that she would get accepted into nursing school. She had applied twice and been denied. She was submitting her application for the third time. You could just tell, she was thinking, “Here comes disappointment again, but I’m going to send it in anyway. Please PRAY!” And Pray, we did. Immediately we knew in our hearts that Betsy was accepted. Took about 6 weeks for Betsy to receive the good news that she would be going to nursing school, and soon. She was so thrilled. So were we, until we realized Betsy would be leaving. We told her if we’d known that, we wouldn’t have prayed for her. Of course, we were kidding, but we had grown to love her already and would surely miss her exuberance.
We realize that all things are for a season. Betsy began immediately to focus on someone with the same heart and attitude for the ministry. We were introduced to Tiffiny, a new volunteer. Betsy had exuberance. Tiffiny was exuberance on wheels! Maybe it was because she had been a stay at home mom with 4 small children (one still in diapers), and home schooled. I doubt she ate baby food, but, I’m confident she talked baby talk in her sleep. Enough of that would bring anyone out like a canon ball. She was definitely ready for a new challenge. Tiffiny applied for Betsy‘s old position as Director and got it.
Miss Organization swept through that Center like a tornado. I’m wondering where did she get all that energy. Then, I remembered, I’m old enough to be her grandma. I’m thinking, don’t get to obsessive compulsive, and don‘t forget to breathe. Then I remembered the Bible saying something about the older women teaching the younger woman in Titus 2. Somehow, this thing seems to be working in reverse. We’ll see. Hang in there grandma.
Then, it started happening. She began to see the fruit of her wisdom. She did not realize to the extent that these younger girls were taking heed as we prayed and got answers. They were getting hungry for answered prayers themselves. We had our little chats about faith, tithing, righteousness, money, and how important our words are. She was teaching and didn’t even know it. They were listening and learning and their lives were beginning to show it. They knew God was no respecter of persons, they just never had used their faith (the word of God) on purpose like a carpenter uses his hammer, aiming for and driving home a nail. They saw the prayer team do that with regularity. They started pulling out their own tools.
This girl had started writing stories in September. It was so cool when she’d come in and Betsy would say, ” Boy, Have I’ve got a story.” “Whip it on me!” She just knew it would be good. Betsy was using her faith on purpose. Knowing that God knows everything, she asked Him to locate her mail carrier. Today is the due date and the money was somewhere out there in an envelope. She knew it was not God’s will for the payment to be late. Betsy prayed and asked for favor to find the mail carrier and retrieve the money. She did and headed for the bank, careful not to speed. When Betsy got the receipt at the bank, it was clocked in at 2:00 o’clock. The payment would have been late at 2:01. God knows how to impress his girls. Betsy was finding out how to use her faith.
After Tiffiny came on board, she was driving a jalopy. Once when we were leaving for the day, she cranked the vehicle and literally scared me. It made really weird noises. “Good Lord!, I prayed, please protect that car. There’s people in that thing.” We committed it to prayer. It was no time at all until Tiffiny was sporting a new vehicle. She has a whole new life and her dreams are getting bigger. God is moving mightily in her entire family. Tiffiny is using her faith on purpose, and reading the Bible with these brand new eyes.
I would be remiss not to mention one of our most memorable clients. A black lady came in for a pregnancy test. She had her toddler with her. She also had a little white girl with her, for whom she was tending until her daddy got off work. The lady finished her test and was in the counseling room with her toddler. The little girl, who was waiting in the lobby, said “what is this place called?” I said, “The Women’s Resource Center, and you’re a little women, so you qualify”… just trying to connect with the youngster.
Without hesitation, the youngster said, “My Mother died.” She had my full attention as I moved towards her and took a seat. “Your Mother died?”… I said, thinking my ears were deceiving me. “Yes ma’am.” “What happened honey, do you want to talk about it?” “Yes ma’am. We prayed and did everything we could and she was getting better, but she died anyway. Daddy was at the hospital with her when she died and he came home and told me all about it.” “When did this happen, honey?” “This year, I think it was in June”, the youngster replied.
As it turned out, this little 8 year old lost her mother to cancer. It is no coincidence that this writer lost her mother at the same age. I am amazed when I reflect on how God orchestrates situations and circumstances. God is here at the Women’s Resource and Medical Clinic for all woman of all ages; for all reasons and all seasons. The following is a small tribute from my heart to Our Lord, His Mission and Ministry to Women in Bradford County.
JESUS…THE BRIDGE
God, how much YOU love these girls that we see
Please help them to see YOU, when they’re looking at me.
You are Definitely the missing link in their lives
That’s obvious to me when I look in their eyes.
We humble ourselves as the Bridge you choose to use
Sometimes, scraping them off the floor of despair
Please let them know how much YOU truly care
It’s really easy to feel their pain
When I reflect, Your Grace is made So plain.
When I ponder my past and I find I’m still here
You have a plan for my life, You’ve made that quite clear.
In YOU, we live and move and have our being completely
YOU alone are Sovereign and planned our lives so tenderly and sweetly
There’s no way around it Father, Your way is right
Even though we may get stuck in the night
Struggling with things we know will bring plight
You’re not Dethroned by our decision;
Our wrongs are weighed, BUT made right.
Help us to learn from our mistakes and our blunders
Teach us to quickly run to YOU for cover
Your Blood is enough to Wipe out all of our sins
To Cleanse us and help us to Start over again.
Poem by: Sandra Rash Marchman