Then a Hero Comes Along
There have been many heroes in my life. They’ve taken all sorts of shapes and sizes. They’ve come at varying stages of my life, for various reasons.
I’d like to tell you about a “group of six”.
One night six women gathered from different corners of the area for a common goal. They met a woman, seemingly by chance, when she first moved to the area. The woman was invited by her new neighbor to a Bible study of some sort. She had no idea what would happen next .
The woman was me. I had just moved here from North Carolina and I was people deprived. I was busy focusing on my education and getting through physical traumas and hadn’t had the opportunity to just make friends. I didn’t really have a connection to anyone.
I was around people, we had similar goals, but there was something missing. We all knew that I was only in North Carolina temporarily, so it’s kind of pointless to make close relationships work. Now. I had a bunch of amazing people in my life, you know who you are 😁. I had an awesome support system through the University and the Pastor and his family that I worked for, but I didn’t have any deep relationships.
I’m the kind of person that needs a few deep relationships. So, I was kind of “fasting “ relationships. It was hard, but I knew it wasn’t permanent. Transition... we all have those times. Because I had so many physical battles before moving here I was really tired . I was also starving for fellowship. So, when my neighbor asked me to go to a women’s meeting I thought, why not?
I look back on that now and know that God had a plan. I mean, who gets in a car with two strangers, drives to the middle of nowhere to meet a group of women you know nothing about?
I don’t use names in my blogs, but I will tell you about that group of women. They are unusual and unselfish and beautiful. They are unique, they are a surprise and they are refreshingly vulnerable.
They call themselves, “Many Facrs of Love”. I had no idea what that meant. But what I experienced that day set off a marvelous chain of events that would change my life.
As I heard women “ tell their stories “ mine didn’t seem so unusual. These women had been through various stages of hell on earth and they weren’t afraid to talk about it. There was no pretense or posturing, just open armed love.
Their motto is that everyone has a story to tell and their goal is to help women, like me, tell theirs. Since I’ve been in Oklahoma I’ve heard a lot about introducing the world to the Real Jesus. It seems that everywhere I go I hear the same message.
“People can argue all day with your theology, but they can’t argue with your personal experience “. Hence, telling your story. Many faces of love is merely a description of the women involved in this ministry.
So. as I journeyed through this period of my life I got stuck. I’ve talked about PTSD, and I’ve talked about depression, I’ve experienced great rejection and loneliness. Life has not been easy. I went from having five people in one house down to just my dog and I. I didn’t want to live that way. I thought I’d always have my family around. But how many of you know that things don’t always turn out like you plan? I didn’t expect to have Cancer, I didn’t expect to have a car wreck, I certainly didn’t expect to go through a divorce. Nothing was as I’d hoped and to tell you the truth... I was just plain old sad.
As I headed down this new road I came to a stopping point and I didn’t know how to move forward. I was stuck. One of the ladies from this group met me for lunch one day. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “ it is enough!”
She called six women to come together and to pray with me. Each of them had a specific part to play that evening. One woman comforted me, one woman sang my favorite worship song without even knowing that’s what she was doing. A couple of the other women just held my hand and each of them spoke into different parts of my life. They each had a key to my healing. They each had a part to play. Each part was just as important as the other.
They shared some spiritual insight and answered some questions I hadn’t known how to ask.
Do you know what the greatest gift was? Time! They each walked away from busy schedules and took time away from their families to love and comfort a stranger. Our only bond was Jesus and his REAL love.
It wasn’t convenient, they got nothing out of it and didn’t charge me anything. They loved. There was no judgement. Compassion ruled that night as six women sat around one broken soul and spoke comfort, wisdom and insight into my life. I will never be the same. I started on a new journey and they each had a part to play. They were road signs. They had maps and provisions, all six of them were there for only one reason: Jesus called their names.
Thank you sweet ladies! They told me the truth, they encouraged me and still support me in my journey. I am free to be a hero to someone else because of what they did for me.
Instead of looking for heroes, let’s be heroes. There is a world full of hurting people that need to meet the Real Jesus. Be the hero that comes alongside someone and boosts them on their journey. Tell them your story and listen to theirs. It’s important. Be valuable, not just to benefit our time on this earth, but for eternity.
I’d like to tell you about a “group of six”.
One night six women gathered from different corners of the area for a common goal. They met a woman, seemingly by chance, when she first moved to the area. The woman was invited by her new neighbor to a Bible study of some sort. She had no idea what would happen next .
The woman was me. I had just moved here from North Carolina and I was people deprived. I was busy focusing on my education and getting through physical traumas and hadn’t had the opportunity to just make friends. I didn’t really have a connection to anyone.
I was around people, we had similar goals, but there was something missing. We all knew that I was only in North Carolina temporarily, so it’s kind of pointless to make close relationships work. Now. I had a bunch of amazing people in my life, you know who you are 😁. I had an awesome support system through the University and the Pastor and his family that I worked for, but I didn’t have any deep relationships.
I’m the kind of person that needs a few deep relationships. So, I was kind of “fasting “ relationships. It was hard, but I knew it wasn’t permanent. Transition... we all have those times. Because I had so many physical battles before moving here I was really tired . I was also starving for fellowship. So, when my neighbor asked me to go to a women’s meeting I thought, why not?
I look back on that now and know that God had a plan. I mean, who gets in a car with two strangers, drives to the middle of nowhere to meet a group of women you know nothing about?
I don’t use names in my blogs, but I will tell you about that group of women. They are unusual and unselfish and beautiful. They are unique, they are a surprise and they are refreshingly vulnerable.
They call themselves, “Many Facrs of Love”. I had no idea what that meant. But what I experienced that day set off a marvelous chain of events that would change my life.
As I heard women “ tell their stories “ mine didn’t seem so unusual. These women had been through various stages of hell on earth and they weren’t afraid to talk about it. There was no pretense or posturing, just open armed love.
Their motto is that everyone has a story to tell and their goal is to help women, like me, tell theirs. Since I’ve been in Oklahoma I’ve heard a lot about introducing the world to the Real Jesus. It seems that everywhere I go I hear the same message.
“People can argue all day with your theology, but they can’t argue with your personal experience “. Hence, telling your story. Many faces of love is merely a description of the women involved in this ministry.
So. as I journeyed through this period of my life I got stuck. I’ve talked about PTSD, and I’ve talked about depression, I’ve experienced great rejection and loneliness. Life has not been easy. I went from having five people in one house down to just my dog and I. I didn’t want to live that way. I thought I’d always have my family around. But how many of you know that things don’t always turn out like you plan? I didn’t expect to have Cancer, I didn’t expect to have a car wreck, I certainly didn’t expect to go through a divorce. Nothing was as I’d hoped and to tell you the truth... I was just plain old sad.
As I headed down this new road I came to a stopping point and I didn’t know how to move forward. I was stuck. One of the ladies from this group met me for lunch one day. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “ it is enough!”
She called six women to come together and to pray with me. Each of them had a specific part to play that evening. One woman comforted me, one woman sang my favorite worship song without even knowing that’s what she was doing. A couple of the other women just held my hand and each of them spoke into different parts of my life. They each had a key to my healing. They each had a part to play. Each part was just as important as the other.
They shared some spiritual insight and answered some questions I hadn’t known how to ask.
Do you know what the greatest gift was? Time! They each walked away from busy schedules and took time away from their families to love and comfort a stranger. Our only bond was Jesus and his REAL love.
It wasn’t convenient, they got nothing out of it and didn’t charge me anything. They loved. There was no judgement. Compassion ruled that night as six women sat around one broken soul and spoke comfort, wisdom and insight into my life. I will never be the same. I started on a new journey and they each had a part to play. They were road signs. They had maps and provisions, all six of them were there for only one reason: Jesus called their names.
Thank you sweet ladies! They told me the truth, they encouraged me and still support me in my journey. I am free to be a hero to someone else because of what they did for me.
Instead of looking for heroes, let’s be heroes. There is a world full of hurting people that need to meet the Real Jesus. Be the hero that comes alongside someone and boosts them on their journey. Tell them your story and listen to theirs. It’s important. Be valuable, not just to benefit our time on this earth, but for eternity.
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