There is no doubt that every day God has blessed my life more than I know. There are always the secret blessings when He causes you to leave the house late to avoid a wreck, or possibly the alternator is still working because you gave money to someone who needed it and put your faith in Him. I have experienced blessings just as everyone else has ~ but what about beyond blessings?!
I heard a preacher talking about when Jesus was speaking to the multitude. These people were all being blessed. In fact, the preacher spoke of “burping on the blessings” on land while the ones that went with Jesus got to experience Him on a whole new level.
That, to me, is beyond blessings!
The question is, how can we experience this “beyond blessings”? It’s not like we get to see Jesus walk on water, heal the blind, and raise the dead. I can only speak of what I have experienced. After our home burned down, it took a short while before I felt a sense of peace I have never felt before. When you are put into a situation where you are helpless and all you can do is put your faith in God ~ that’s when it starts. This peace that passes all understanding truly occurs when you know God is in control and leave everything in His hands.
Recently, my pastor friend, Bob Stacy, has had his world fall apart in a short amount of time. His wife, June, fell about three times in a week and called 911 on the third time. At the emergency room, they did an MRI of her brain, which showed possible lymphomas. Because she was a breast cancer survivor, they needed to do a CT scan to see whether the cancer was confined to that area. Praise God, it wasn’t spread all over her body. She was transferred to Mission Hospital and on to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, NC.
With Bob being my counselor and best friend, I knew him well, but I was more of an acquaintance with June. I called her a couple of days ago and left a message saying we were praying for her. She called back, and the person I was speaking to was different. I now knew this June, for she too had found that peace. After ten years, we have something in common.
The last two years have been hard on me considering the painful dealings with our contractor, being injured from going in to save the shepherds, plus the loss of our Chihuahuas in the fire. Eventually, this peace I had got mixed up into the turmoil of my life and I went back to “burping on the blessings.” Hearing June made me miss having that intense faith and peace knowing that God IS in control. After we got off the phone, all I could do was cry—not just out of happiness for her, but for what I was missing.
Even though she’s facing a tough battle, she has been blessing others, not only with her peace but with her prayers for others at the hospital. Remember, sometimes God uses you to reach others. As we were talking, she shared a chorus with me that God gave her at about five in the morning. I giggled and told her that’s because we are women and it works that way. Our day has to be done, the family has to be in bed, safe and secure, and all must be quiet…then we can hear God.
She gave me permission to share this chorus. I pray it will touch your heart with whatever you may be going through today, as it did mine.
You are the life of my heart,
You are the light of my soul.
Father, You’re my everything,
And You’re in control.
June Stacy
9/2/2019
5 a.m.
Oncology Ward
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Asheville, NC
This is DeVaughn ~ bringing it home.
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