To my dear DeWs,
“Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for the honor of writing this special message. Thank you for sending me a fresh flow of the Holy Sprit and for your wisdom and guidance to say what you would have me say. Lord, while these stories are about me, help me convey that the real story is about You.”
I was the 6th to be born to a mother 27 years of age. Fact is, my mother gathered the courage to answer an alter call to accept Jesus Christ as her personal savior when she was pregnant with me, then brought Him home to us.
My parents divorced when I was about 10, and that’s when attending church ended. With Dad gone, Mom working full-time, and my siblings growing out of the house one by one, there wasn’t much nurturing left for me. As a teenager, I found myself searching for pictures of me as a child. Not much evidence of adoring pictures. Searching for pictures was just the beginning a long journey to Divine Intervention.
To further cement feeling insignificant, when I was 13 my Mom married an alcoholic who’s behavior was unpredictable from one day to the next. From the moment I was able, I had to have a boyfriend. Being without one wasn’t an option, and not knowing how to choose, being verbally and physically abused began at 17.
Fast forward to 32. I found what I thought was my night and shining armor. He was a wonderful man, cheerful, caring, successfully self-employed with a wonderful family who truly loved me. We soon had our only child. Kelsey was born with a diaphragmatic hernia with, they said, about a 5% chance of living. In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I remember cupping my hands together like a boat and said to my husband, “These are like God’s hands, and he’s carrying us in His boat.”
That was my first real reference to God since childhood, and the last until my husband left me. I had married an alcoholic. He had stopped making the mortgage and medical insurance payments without telling me. This broke me into pieces, and that search I mentioned previously went into full swing; but I was looking in all the wrong places.
It started with talking with his mother, his dad, his brothers, my brother, my sisters-in-law, my sisters, counselors and anyone else who would lend an ear. Nobody could help. I needed a miracle. I was dying inside. I began a different search at Al-Anon, a recovery program for the family and friends of an alcoholic. It was here that I began to find knowledge, understanding and comfort knowing that a “higher power” was saving marriages, saving families and saving lives. But why was I still living in a nightmare?
Kelsey was about 4 when I found myself locked in the guest room, crying out loud for God to heal my brain. I told Him I felt like what the Israelites must have felt wandering the desert for 40 years. I begged Him to not let me walk out of that room the same person that had walked in. And He did. He began to show me how His Divine Intervention would manifest. Now, it was between God and me. That was it. Nobody else. Only He could help me recover. He changed my mind. I was different. Instead of spewing purposeless words out of my mouth, I began to send them purposefully up to Him in prayer. Until then, in my mind, I was in control of every outcome in my life. He led me to two books of the Bible first: James who taught me how to live life according to God’s wisdom, and Job who continued to trust in God even after losing everything he loved.
I had “Let Go and Let God.” I surrendered my pride to Him, (which I learned was shaped like a house), that I was so desperately holding onto. He would be there no matter where we lived. I forgave and surrendered my husband to God to watch over. I surrendered my desperation to Him, my heart, my need to be in control, my thoughts and my words. He became my counselor. I learned to trust Him.
This was my surrender. I knew it, and He knew it. And so His Divine Intervention began in my life. He revealed to me why it took, “40 years in the desert” for Him to rescue me from myself. God knew if my pain and suffering had been lifted too soon, I would not have known to give Him the credit. Remember… until I surrendered to Him, I was in control of and took all the credit for my life’s outcomes. Finally, I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief and begin to move forward with eyes wide open to a brand new kind of search… seeking His wisdom over my own.
Divine Intervention is when we surrender to seek God’s wisdom, and He answers in HIS timing and in the way HE knows we need.
• The judge moved my husband out of my home. I was devastated when he took his own life a few short years later. His parents blamed me. I prayed for them. They came forward 6 years later to say they forgave me!
• I was out of PTO so my sister paid my wages for five days for me to come to Texas and coach her medical front office team for 2 hours on how to collect at the time of service!
• That Sunday at church, there was an alter call. I was stuck to my chair. My 18-year-old, 6’5” nephew stood up in the aisle and held out his hand. He escorted me to the alter where I surrendered and dedicated my life to the Lord!
• My home was in foreclosure, $30K in arrears. I had no idea there was PMI insurance. I receive a phone call. They said, “You wanna keep the house?” I said, “YES!” I’ve lived here since 1991.
• I had recently been recruited for an interview for 1-800-DENTIST for a part-time Member Consultant position. I was hired. I could then afford to refinance the house with an offer of 5%!
• I stopped looking for a husband and asked God to do it for me. I met Bill at church, stalked him, then asked him to marry me 6 months later! Yes, I did!
I would love to talk with anyone that feels led to reach out.
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow, Love, Jodie
James 1:2-8 Faith and Wisdom
