Crooked Lines

One of my favorite quotes is a Spanish proverb that translates, "God writes straight with crooked lines." It is very humbling. I have very little clue what I am doing but I know God is working through me. He is using me for what he made me for. Last night I was able to speak to a college group about Father Wounds. I shared my poem called Dad and the main speaker worked through the steps of forgiveness and healing. It was an amazing night and I was used as a key part of kids working through some issues and beginning healing.

When we were in the woods I wrestled with two brothers Jacob and JT. I ended up breaking JT's nose and held Jacob down while I told him the story of the 3 bears. The thing is these guys are rough and tumble men's men. I was able to connect and minister to them deeper through grappling than any other way. I gained respect and friendship. That friendship was built on. I was able to encourage JT through speaking into his current life situation and praying for his nose :) Jacob ended up leaving the woods and coming home with us to live in the Joshua House. He was baptized in the ocean on our last day in FL. Later that night as we gathered for prayer, Jacob prayed thanking God for me his new "Big Brother" who is allot like he wished his real big brother was. That blew me away. I felt so honored.

On the Sunday before we left the FL we held the morning service. I shared my poem on Vision. It's my wish for the church to see outreach as a lifestyle rather than just a program. After the service I was able to pray for a few young men of the church. Several people came up to me thanking me for sharing. One guy told me that I basically captured everything he had been feeling for years and put it in a package. Another guy told me that his sister and brother in law were in church for the first time in a long while. He said they were both skeptical and bitter towards the church in general but were moved by the service and what I had shared and they told him they would be back next Sunday. Recently I received an email from a woman down at that church who said people were still talking about my poem the following Sunday. She said God would being using my words in ways that I wouldn't even know.

I don't write these things to toot my horn or boast of myself. In fact as I recall these incidents I am extremely humbled. I can't believe God could use a mess like me to touch peoples lives. I write these accounts as a reminder to me. Sometimes when things get tough I regret being delivered and I long for the safety of slavery in Egypt. When I look back on the way God has worked through me it encourages me to keep seeking him and allowing his spirit to produce much fruit in and through my life. My biggest wish is that my story is a testament to the fact that God's love can change anybody and that He can use us all in ways we never even imagined.