God at work.... so amazing!

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all

flesh; is there anything too hard for me?"

(Jeremiah 32:27)

~~~~~~~~

"Ah, Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the

heaven and the earth by thy great power and

stretched out arm, and there nothing too

hard for thee."

(Jeremiah 32:17)

When I met my husband 27 years ago, we were living in Shreveport, La. He had a good friend named John who had a sweet girlfriend (soon to be his wife) named Terrylyn. We enjoyed lots of good fellowship with them at their house. We grilled steaks a lot and had lots of laughs and fun times. They were very special to us. Jimbo and I married, started our family and were transferred to Texas with his job. We saw John and Terrylyn one more time after the birth of our third daughter and then lost touch with them. They had moved to Nevada and after we moved a few more times, life just got busy.

About 16 years ago, we were able to find their phone number and Jimbo called John to let him know about the changes God had been making in our lives. Jimbo had re-surrendered to the ministry after years of running from what God had planned for his life. He called John and shared with him how God had given him a wake-up call and that he was back in God's will and was now pastoring a church. That was a HUGE detail in the rest of the story.

I love how God has used what happened to us yesterday to really stir my heart as to the Sovereignty and Omniscience of our Almighty God! I have been able to look back to 27 years ago and see how God placed John and Terrylyn in our lives for a specific purpose. He even used that phone call 16 years ago, to plant the seed of Jimbo being a Pastor in their minds. He even used the Internet and my blogging for the Lord to bring friends back together. For a mighty purpose. For a divine purpose.

About 2 weeks ago, maybe less, Jimbo and I were headed to Monroe on church business and just out of the blue, I said, "I wonder where John and Terrylyn are?" We started talking about old times with them and we realized that we needed to try and get in touch with them. But as usual, life happened and we got busy and we got distracted and forgot all about it. But God didn't.

Sunday after church, I was doing some studying for a class I teach at night and  got on the Internet to look up a bible commentary. I very rarely get on the computer on Sundays, but this was one exception. My email pulls up automatically and I just scanned the emails as I wasn't planning on looking at them right then. I noticed an email address that I didn't recognize, but the subject line had a name in it that popped out at me. I thought there was no way it was the John T. that we knew, but opened it anyway.

The first line made my heart stop...

"If you are not the Beth Herring that I am looking for, I hope that you will forgive me. My husband, John T., was in a tragic accident in August 2009. "

My heart was beating so fast as I scanned the email and realized that indeed this was the Terrylyn I knew and that our precious friend had been hurt badly. She went on to let me know about his injuries and the severity of them. He was in a motorcycle accident that left him on a ventilator for the first 8 weeks after the accident. He then didn't speak for another month or eat for another 4 months. He is still in the hospital or rehab center, 20 months later, with traumatic brain injury. He has no use of his legs or one of his arms. He has no short term memory. The part of his brain that controls his temperature and things like that is affected. He can't do anything for himself.

She says that through all of this, John has asked over and over for Jimbo. (They knew him as Jimmie - he is only Jimbo here in his home town). If someone comes to see him and she says, "Guess who's here to see you?", he will say, "Jimmie Herring?". Now, remember, we haven't spoken to them in over 16 years! Terrylyn remembered that Jimbo was preaching and began searching for us on the Internet. She found me through my blog and was able to email me. She left her phone number on the email and of course we called her last night to talk to her. She wants to fly Jimbo to Las Vegas to see John and talk with him and make sure that John is eternally secure.

I know that God has something amazing in store for John and for Terrylyn. God didn't bring them back into our lives for nothing. He ordained each step of the way. He orchestrated each event that has taken place in these past 27 years up until this point for a specific purpose.  I don't know if God is going to perform a miracle of healing in John's life. But I know that He can. I don't know if John will be healed completely from top to bottom - from his brain to his legs - but I know that God can do it, if that is His will. Perhaps God will heal his memory. Perhaps God will heal his arm. Maybe God will heal his precious soul....

My heart is just broken for our friend and his wife and daughter. I don't know what God is going to do, but I know that He is going to do something! I am asking you all to pray with us for John and Terrylyn. Pray for Jimbo as we begin to work out the details for his trip there. Pray that we will surrender our wills to God and that we will listen to His voice and obey whatever it is that He has for us to do. Pray for this precious family and ask God to wrap His loving arms around them in a huge Holy hug!

God, you are amazing! You are the ultimate Healer and I praise you and I thank you for the mighty work you are already beginning in John's life and in his body. There is nothing too hard for you, Lord. There is nothing out of the realm of your capability.  You are who you say you are and you can do what you say you can do! You are God and I love you with all of my heart!