The Journey Continues

June 11, 2009


This journey has been a truly amazing one, it's been a season of change and rearrange in my heart. My thoughts, my faith, my heart has been really challenged. And it has been one of the greatest times of my life with the Lord.The vision of the girls was on a Sunday in November of 2007. I instantly knew in my heart they were Chinese. I prayed for them, and pondered the vision. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays in our church sanctuary we open up the doors for prayer in the midday. There is a faithful prayer warrior there every time the doors are open. She is like Anna in the gospel of Luke:2-36-37. We are honored and privileged that the Lord has called her to our house of worship, and I will be eternally grateful for her faithfulness to pray for us and the people of Northgate.I am there 90% of the time, if I am not traveling or ill. But she is always there! We rarely talk, just say hello and get to the business at hand. Well, on this particular Tuesday, before prayer, she handed me a book. She said, "Mary, I think you need to read this." I really didn't look at it closely, but said, 'Ok". During the prayer time I picked it up and took a look. The title of the book is 'Safely Home'. A fictional story about the persecuted church in China! Needless to say, I was a little rattled, and set it down again. And I just kind of kept looking over at it once in a while, realizing that the timing of this was pretty amazing.I decided later to read it, in January, when I went to Texas to be with my daughter Katie and her husband and new baby granddaughter, Charis. Nanna was coming and coming to stay for quite a while. I felt like, I'll 'deal' with it then! I thought I could read it late at night, I like to take a new book with me when I travel, so this would be the one.In December of 2007, I had a dream. This dream, took my breath away. In the dream, I was sitting in my living room, where I live now, and a little girl was twirling and spinning and showing off her pretty dress. I was clapping, and laughing and really enjoying her. This little girl was Chinese. She was about four or maybe five. I woke up thinking and believing this dream was from God. So, what did it mean? I remembered the vision, the book I was about to read, and now this dream? God? What is going on, Father? Then I decided to make it a matter of prayer, especially when I went to Texas.I didn't breathe a word of this to anyone. I wanted to process what was going on, not realizing at the time, God was taking me through a huge process! I was in the middle of His Process! It's funny when we pray, "Holy Spirit, rearrange me, mess with me, do whatever you want", and then when He does it, it freaks us out!So, I went to Texas, enjoyed my time with my kids and granddaughter and began reading the book. I could not put it down! I sensed in a strange way, that this book was intregal in the journey. The book began to mess with me, majorly, about what the persecuted church goes through in China and throughout the world. It was very unsettling, so much so, it kept me up at night! God began to 'open my heart' to China.Well, there is so much more to this journey, if you'll hang in there with me, I believe you will be blessed. Interested? Keep reading.