God is…

 

 A couple of weeks ago my sister in law texted me that she felt the need to pray for me, but what were my needs?

My first response was to pray for me to feel closer to God. I know that seems silly, but sometimes I feel completely tapped in, a special connection where I feel like the Holy spirit speaks to my heart. I get strong thoughts for people, divine guidance from above. Then, there are other times when the hustle and bustle, the daily grind of routine get in the way, creating a barrier between God and me.

My focus is off the Lord and off of prayer. My connection to God is turned OFF….Who turned that switch off? Ahh…Me! Why would I do that?.   I turned off the GOD switch, not intentionally and entered into the DARK…a.k.a FUNK.

 I was touched and inspired that she thought of me. Soon after her text, I started increasing  my own prayers for myself and others.

Then a terrible thing happened. My girlfriend Patty sent me an email that her son Austin had a stroke. I did not know any details at this point, only that he was in ICU in bad shape.  He is barely 40 years old and 6 weeks ago had a series of strokes. He had some motor skills in one arm that were affected last time, but he seemed to recover quickly. 

With the first incident doctors never really found the source of the problem. They sent him home from the hospital  with instructions to take a baby asprin a day and to eat healthier.   Six weeks later a devastating stroke much more debilatating fired off in his body. The day that this happened played out like a terrible scene from a movie. 

When I finally spoke with Patty her voice broke as she told the story:

 After church on Sunday, I was supposed to meet Austin and some work crews at Lowes home improvement. I was running late and having trouble connecting with Austin. While selecting lumber with the work crew,   I heard Austin in the distance crying out to me. With tunnel vision down the long aisle, I saw Austin dragging one leg, screaming to me with a slur, “It’s happening again, Momma. It’s happening again.”

In a flash, I dropped the lumber in my hand and ran towards him. In slow motion with my heart pounding hard in my chest, I ran towards my son.  When I reached him, he fell into my arms. I cried over him, clutching his face screaming out ….”Call 911, call 911, My son is having a stroke.”

Through his stroke and tremoring  face, Austin kept saying, ” I’m so sorry Mom, I wrecked your truck. I’m so sorry I wrecked your truck.” I asked my helpers to go outside to look. They  found the pick-up that Austin was driving with the door open, engine running and damage to one whole side of the pick-up.  

Unbelievably, Austin drove 3 miles while having a stroke. They rushed Austin the hospital that had the records of his past strokes. He was given a shot in the golden hour which helped reverse some of the damage, but not all.

So torn up and shaking , Patty decided  to text friends and family: This was the first update I had received since the quick email she sent me asking me to pray for Austin. Shortly before reading this text, I did a powerful prayer outloud in the car.

—— MMS —— TEXT
From: 816/TYPE=PLMN
Received: Jul 18, 2012 10:51 PM
Subject: New Message

Family & Close Friends, i am sorry I have not responded to all your calls; Tanner has been doing a great job updating, but I know I need to talk to u myself. Austin had a 2nd stroke Sun @ 2p. I called 911 and we made it to Shawnee Mission Med Center within 1 hr; they were able to give him the clot buster drug which helped alot. This clot hit in the exact spot in the brain doing more damage. Right side stroke this time effecting his speech as well as left arm, and leg..right now he is sleeping alot; he just got out of ICU at 4p onto the stroke floor. He will go into mid america Rehab in a few days. They hav not found the cause but did find a hole in the heart (PFO) that can be how the clots got to his brain..there is a procedure to close the hole we will discuss in a few days. He is not ready to see anyone, I will keep you all informed. I stay all day, and Becky stays all nite….All your prayers are welcomed for both of us…he is “my guy” you know…i am lost without him! 

Right after reading the text, I looked down and in the blank for me to write, already written and NOT typed by me was:

– SMS Text ——
To: 816
Sent: Jul 19, 2012 9:42 AM
God is

Instantly, I knew I didn’t write God is. It was in the blank with response from me…but it was not from me. I didn’t write that!

 I knew that God had sent us a message. I smiled so big and looked up at the sky. Two things just happened my prayers were answered…I felt very close to God…how could I not,  He’s texting me! Plus, Patty got confirmation that GOD is in this. God is handpicking the  doctors,  God is helping them finding the source of the problem! God is in this!

So you might be thinking, I wrote that. But, in order for me to type this, I would have to hold down the alt to capital the “G.” I typically do not text while driving because I’m not a regular texter, and it’s dangerous. I did NOT write that…I had a divine text!

But what did God mean by putting : “God is” on my phone?

To me what it means is when you are lacking something, God is everything you are not.

In Patty’s situation:

• God is a healer.
• God is in control.
• God is the answer.
• God is all powerful, all knowing.
• God is all things we are not.

In one Divine text, I felt instantly connected to God. In one text, Patty found peace knowing that God is listening to our prayers. 

I encourage you to start praying today that you feel closer to God. It’s amazing how close you can feel. Since the prayers started, it’s been a series of “God” incidents, eyebrow lifting things that can’t help but make you smile because you feel so close to the Lord. What is God for you today?

Scriptures for Today:

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

2 Samuel 22:32-34  For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? {33} It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. {34} He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.

Thoughts for Today and Action Items:

1. Start praying today for you to feel closer to God.

2. Write down everything that God is to you right now.You can do this for a specific problem, situation, whatever comes up. Remind yourself that GOD is more powerful than you!

God is….

God is…

God is…

3. Will you Pray for Patty and for Austin? Please include them in your prayers.

4. If you have read one of my blogs and thought about someone, will you send them the blog link?

5. Will you invite someone to subscribe to the blog?

 

 
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 8:31 AM
To: Shea Brewer
Subject: RE: God is…Let me know if I can publish?

 God is: my Father, my Boss, my Leader, my comforter, my healer, my director, my driver, my energy, my thoughts, my conqueror