I received a package in my mailbox this week. One of those unexpected surprises that makes both your lips and your heart smile.
The package was from Miss Ruth.
Miss Ruth is a beautiful 84 yr old African American woman I met on the plane ride home from Charlotte, NC in July of 2011.
I was on my way home from my very first She Speaks Conference. A conference designed to encourage and equip women to share His message through speaking and writing. A conference I wasn't quite sure I belonged at, but had decided to trust the Father's prompting.
Miss Ruth was sporting a small red & white pin with the words
"i ♥ sunday school".
I was a Christian Education Director at that time...and I just knew in my heart that God had arranged our seating for that 2.5 hour flight to Minneapolis. I gently leaned over and quietly whispered....
"I like your pin".
Those were the last 4 words I spoke.
The entire flight.
Miss Ruth spent the next 800+ miles sharing her God with me.
She had no idea who I was,
why I was in Charlotte,
what I did for a living,
or even if I was a believer.
And it didn't matter.
She was determined to spill Jesus all over me until the wheels hit the runway, and that's exactly what she did. As we landed, I took out a small mesh bag of bible verses that I had received at the Conference, tucked one of my cards inside, carefully placed it into the palm of her hand, and said Goodbye.
Months later, my phone rang. Miss Ruth.
Miss Ruth from Anchorage, Alaska.
We have maintained a special friendship ever since that trip in the sky. We write each other letters and cards, phone each other occasionally, and exchange small gifts, verses, prayers, and trinkets.
This week's package............a Jesus cube. Or at least that's what Jack Henry calls it. It's actually called the 'Evangecube', described as "an easy-to-use puzzle to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life and designed to make sharing your faith simple and fun".
Jack Henry concurs.
He was immediately drawn to this new "toy". He flipped it and flopped it and carefully soaked in each and every completed picture.
"Look Mama, here's Jesus on the cross. He died there ya know.......for us ya know."
I smiled sweetly. {Kudos Sunday School teachers}
But it was the next explanation that truly grabbed my heart. He arranged the new puzzle to display this well-known image.
He studied it, smiled, and said.........................
"Look Mama, after Jesus died, He got to hold God's hand."
Speechless.
Friends,
I have seen this picture/clip art/painting/image hundreds of times.
I have imagined it being God reaching down and we are reaching up.
I have viewed it as God offering His rescuing hand to our sinking soul.
And I still believe these are both great descriptions.
However........................I have never, EVER, seen this beautiful picture the way my Jack Henry had.
Jesus dying, and then getting to hold his Daddy's hand again.♥
And the same will hold true..............for US.
For we too.............are His children.
“Do not hold on to me,” Jesus told her, “because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to Him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God.” ~ John 20:17 GNT
God gave His Son. Jesus came. He came to fulfill the law. And He came.......to restore the relationship between us and our Father.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16 GNT
Everlasting Life Holding Hands with Daddy.
Thank you for sharing God's message Miss Ruth..........and Jack Henry.
Whether your are 4 or 84, whether it be through a pin or a puzzle, a smile or a hug, a listening ear or a sturdy shoulder, there are a million ways for us to share HIM with this world.♥
Let's do it.
For we are ALL children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ~ Galatians 3:26 NLT
Your Sister in Christ,
♥ Tera
beautiful story here tera thank you..
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