Isn't That Just Like Her?

I’ve been spending a lot more time in our study over the last few days.  I had originally seen the room as kind of a fun place to retreat to whenever either one of us wanted to read, spend some alone time, watch TV, do our Bible studies, pray and yes… even pay the bills!  But for some reason, we never spent much time in the room while Piper was still with us.

To be honest though, the location of the room in the hallway made it a little difficult to maneuver Piper’s wheelchair in and out.  We could make it work but with a corner entrance, the placement of the loveseat in the room and the bulk of the chair, it was more than I had the patience to deal with on most days.  So, except for settling in to read to Piper in the afternoons a few times, to get a book or pull out a file from the desk, it never lived up to its full potential!  It was just a lot easier to work at the dining room table where Piper could be close at my side and oversee whatever I was doing at the time!

Within the last month or so, I moved the files, Bibles and everything that I had stacked on the dining room table back into the study… well, most everything.  There are still a few pieces of mail to file and… yikes… seven Bibles out and about!  (I’m still doing my morning Bible study there!)

I was in the back room doing some things over the weekend and again yesterday.  On both days I found myself on my knees looking through books on the bottom row of the bookshelves or into the far reaches of a file cabinet for something I’d hidden away for safety purposes… and then forgot where I put it!  On Sunday I came across Piper’s church, Bible study and prayer notebook for almost all of 2003.  Yesterday I pulled out our Senior yearbook to check out a picture of us in the ad section where we posed for an advertisement.  Then a little later, I took out and reviewed with a tear in my eye, Piper’s first MRI images from September of 2007 that I had filed away.

The notebook was filled with amazing memories of the Church Leadership Conference that we attended in Oklahoma in 2003.  It was the one where I heard that small still voice of the Lord inside of me telling me that it was time to go to Bible school.  On one page there was a prayer list that included her desires to own “our house with property and horses” and the calling to move to Oklahoma for us to attend Bible College.  (we had always planned that both of us would attend the school, but Piper’s physical needs changed all that a few years later.)

I was so excited when I read the request about the house with property as it served to confirm her limited but positive reaction when it came to the decision to purchase this house in 2015.  It was another heart desire of hers that got fulfilled in her lifetime!  The prayer for going to Rhema Bible College also cemented the accuracy of what we had “heard” at that convention and then the three years that we prayed and planned for the move.  Piper and I were never more in agreement for something as we were to follow this particular leading of the Lord.  And…without a doubt, we received more vehement controversy over that one decision than for any other in our 48 years together… both before and especially after our return!

As I have written of before, I can see today that it was simply an attack on our faith.  It was a gigantic maneuver of the enemy of our souls to get us to sell out on what we believed was God’s way for us to handle these last ten years… before we even got started!  As I read from Acts 9:20-23 concerning the incidents that occurred with Saul immediately following his conversion, I can see many similarities to what happened to us. 

This portion of scripture informs us that as soon as Saul (or Paul as we’ll later come to know him) was converted that he began to preach Christ, or in other words, he immediately began to follow his new calling.  His actions definitely caught the attention of those around him as the writer reports that “Everyone who heard him was amazed.”  But it wasn’t the positive type of amazement that I mentioned in my last post.  This amazement took an ugly turn.  The next few verses tell us that “Saul grew more powerful, and he confused the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.  (&) Later the Jews planned to murder Saul.” (Acts 9:20-23 God’s Word ©)

The truth that Saul preached was not in agreement with what the Jewish leaders believed or lived… and they were not happy about it!  The use of the word “amazed” in this sense is defined in the original language as “to put out of wits, to astound, to become insane.” (Strong’s)  A modern dictionary explains the actions of “insane” as “in a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behavior or social interaction.” (Oxford Online Dictionary)

When I saw those definitions all I could say was “WOW!”  For it was exactly what I felt was going on when a small group of folks disagreed with our decision to go to Bible College and then return full of faith to follow what we believed was the Godly ordained path for Piper’s care.  To say the least, it was a very difficult and confusing time.

But in the end, we stuck to our guns, the pressure transformed into a distant relationship and everything happened the way I believe, God wanted it to!  And NOW... it seems like I am continually coming up with confirmations from Piper through her past notes written down in her Bibles, notebooks, on scraps of paper… and in my heart.  I realized as I was stepping out of the shower this morning, that Piper is still encouraging me with the memories she left behind… just for me!  Isn’t that just like her!

So, I continue to encourage you to NEVER give up on the plans that you believe that God has given you… no matter what or who comes against you!  Your perseverance in obediently following the plan of God will AWAYS pay off!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting the plans that I believe God told me to follow are coming to fruition!”