God Speaks
Road to Sierra…….
Sierra is our oldest child we have raised but she is not our first born. As I have shared in previous stories (for details reference: Our Testimony-Tyler Christian and Joy in the Storm) Our first-born son Tyler, was born with brain cancer and severely disabled.
We were young parents that were thrown into a world of special needs, chronically ill and eventually terminally ill children. Our life with him was so intense that the thought of having another child was the furthest thing from our mind. I remember from time to time people would often ask us if we would ever have another child and I never quite knew how to respond to this question. The thought was so “of our radar” I didn’t have an immediate answer. If I did answer I am sure I would have said, no.
Like most parents we could not have loved our son more but becoming parents threw us into a treacherous storm.
I don’t think I would have ever had the courage to have another child without divine intervention. God knew this so He decided… to speak.
One evening when Tyler was about 18 months old our home phone rang. On the other end of the line was my always praying, faith filled- grandmother. While I was able to visit her fairly often, she never called me. My heart skipped a beat when I heard her voice. I immediately wondered why she was calling me and what was wrong.
She was the spiritual matriarch of the family and we often joked that she had a “direct hot line” to God. It was not uncommon for God to reveal or show grandma something while she was praying and she was always praying! She was always faithful to share. I know this seems strange to some, but to the believer it is not strange at all. Time and time again, throughout my entire life God used grandma to speak into the lives of those around her, particularly her family.
Sometimes, even things we didn’t want her to know. She knew.
For those that knew her there was no doubt that she had something special. While there just may be some very special spiritual dynamics to her gifts, I like to think of it a bit simpler, I like to think she simply learned to do something we can all do.
She learned how to listen….
As I received that very unexpected and unusual call from my grandmother that night my heart skipped a beat. I was a little anxious and my mind began to run all the possibilities for the call. Then it was time to get to the point and I heard the ever-famous words from my faithful grandmother on the other end of the line.
“Well, I’ve been prayin’ and God showed me something.”
There it is.
I remember for some reason fear gripped me as I steadied myself grasping a nearby table. We were going through so much caring for our son; I knew we just couldn’t take any more.
She continues; “I have been prayin’ and God showed me something and I need you to listen.
“You are going to have another child; this child is going to be healthy; do you hear me? This child is going to be healthy and you are not to worry a day of your pregnancy. And… I think it’s a girl.”
What?…. I was not pregnant, nor did I plan to be.
My mind is reeling to process this. I remember all the times the Lord had used my grandmother to speak into my life. I trusted her; I knew she knew how to hear from God but this was in direct conflict with my own thoughts and feelings.
Strong and confident, she repeated these words again.
Finally, gathering my resolve. I responded to my grandmother.
“Grandma, I believe you, but right now I can’t even begin to see it. I can’t even imagine being able to go there. If this is going to happen, God is going to have to change my heart.”
……..”Then He’ll change your heart.” As she repeated God’s message to me for a third time.
God spoke to me that night through my faithful grandmother.
To have another child during our life with Tyler was unimaginable. Over the next year we pondered the words spoken through my grandmother. Was God speaking to me? Could it be true? If we step out in faith is everything really going to be alright? Could we really have a healthy child? Can we do this again?
Over the next year, we took those powerful words and as we prayed and mediated on them, the faith and desire to have another child grew. Over that year something incredible happened. God changed my heart.
He knew the future; He knew we needed to know the end from the beginning. He had blessings for us in this life and provided us the courage to go after them with a spoken promise.
It was about a year after this phone call that we made the decision to step out in faith and got pregnant with our daughter, Sierra. A girl! We were still deeply entrenched in caring for her brother during this time and I remember from time to time fear started to grip me. But I had a promise!
God gave us something to stand on and it was specific. He said “not to worry a day of my pregnancy.” Not a day. I remember being thankful that He broke it down daily. I was a high risk pregnancy and I can’t tell you how many times I had a Dr. apt or ultrasound scheduled that I began to get scared. I remember before each apt, I would stomp my foot in faith and say “not today”.
God said not to fear a day of my pregnancy and I choose to believe.
This word turned out to be true. 23 years later, our daughter Sierra has been one of our greatest blessings in life. I cannot even begin to fathom all the daily joys we would have missed if God did not speak. All the precious memories of our life with her would be nothing. Every moment is precious and God knew our fear would keep us from it. I am so thankful for a talking God!
Sierra has recently become a mother herself; to a little girl she named after her big brother who passed away.
What a legacy of faith!
It is hard to imagine where we would be today if my grandmother hadn’t learned to hear the voice of the Lord.
God speaks to all of us.
Often times when we think of God speaking to us, we think of an audible voice from heaven. While there are certainly times that God has done this it is not the most common way.
In todays society, when we say God told me or God showed me something people often look at us like we’re nuts. We are not! There are many ways God talks to people.
To just name a few; He speaks through his word, The Bible, He speaks through nature, He speaks through prayer, He speaks through His spirit, He speaks through worship music and through other people like he did my grandmother that day. We must remember when God speaks to us it will never contradict his word.
Can you imagine the creator of the heavens and earth, land and the sea, wants to chat with us? Not only does he want to chat with us, He delights in it!
“The Lord directs the steps of the Godly, he delights in every detail of their lives.”. Psalms 37:23
I think my grandmother did have a “direct hot line” to God and God told her great mysteries.
My grandmother is not the only one that has God’s number, we all have the same direct line. We should call home often. Pick up the phone, make the call, talk about your day, ask for help. He delights in it! The one thing I know for sure is this number will never busy, staticky, blocked or out of service.
This line is always clear with the One who has a desire to show us great mysteries.
He’s speaking….now if we can just learn to listen.
The Anchor Holds……