Sunday, January 8, 2012

God Connections!


Joseph called this afternoon.  He had been to a new church this morning with a friend he met at Kanakuk Kamp (now Camp Kivu) years ago.  During the greet time his buddy introduced him to another friend of his who owns a Chick-fil-a in Denver.  Someone mentioned Joseph was looking for a job and this man told Joseph to come in and fill out an application; they were hiring.  After chatting briefly following the service the man offered Joseph a job, on the spot, and he starts work on Thursday.  Praise God!  Joseph has been searching for a job in Denver since June.  Time to “Eat Mor Chikin!”  

Joseph and I talked about how crazy it is, sometimes—the connections…God-connections—that catch you by surprise.  Our Sunday School class and my Mom’s In Prayer (formerly Mom’s In Touch) group have been praying for Joseph to visit a new church for several weeks and for him to find a job for quite a while.  I never thought both would be answered the same day.  Oh, me of little faith!

God-connections, this is something that has become a common occurrence for me since God’s call in 2008.  I am sure I had them prior to that, but they have certainly increased in number and frequency in the past three years.  Maybe, I am just more aware of them now…or more dependent upon them.  Anyway, God does this when I least expect it. 

It’s funny…it seems more often than not…God does things in 3’s.  In an earlier post this week I shared that during the summer of 2003 God confirmed to me not once, not twice, but three times, I must continue my education at Gardner-Webb University.  Has anyone else experienced this?

Another such trilogy happened this past October.  Charles and I were invited to attend an adoption conference in SC.  We arrived early, found a table, left our things and went back out to get coffee and mingle. When we came back in three ladies were seated at our table. They were completing their introductions and explanations of why they were there and one turned to ask us the same. When I told them God had called me "to coordinate the adoption of deaf orphans in the world"… Let me stop right here and tell you that I cannot say the above phrase without being reminded of the immenseness of His calling each time I hear it.  Honestly, sometimes it is almost as shocking to me now as it was on March 18, 2008.  I don’t think I will ever get used to hearing it.  It is a constant reminder there is absolutely no way I can do any of this apart from Him.  …one of the ladies quickly shared that she had taken American Sign Language in college for her foreign language credit. She later came to me during the first breakout session to say that she knew our meeting was not an accident and that she and her husband were in the adoption process and were open to adopting a deaf/HOH child since one of their biological daughters was HOH and they already knew sign language.
When I asked one of the other ladies why she was there, she responded by signing to me that both her parents were deaf. Later in the day we had an extended conversation and I suspect she will contact me in the future.

The third connect came at lunch when a woman sat at our table who was a homestudy case worker from Raleigh, NC. When I told her what I do, she looked at me and said, "That is very interesting, especially since I received a phone call from a woman, just yesterday, looking to adopt a deaf child." My husband handed her my business card and the next day I was contacted by the woman she spoke of.  I have been diligently trying to encourage this family as they seek God’s plan for them through adoption, since that connection. Mom and Dad are ASL interpreters and they sign with their three biological hearing children. And Dad is in the process of getting an additional degree in Deaf Education. 

I can't make this stuff up!  I love God-connections...they aren't just good, they are the best!

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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:1-5

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