Rambled Heart Strings Part II

Before you go any further, if you haven’t read Rambled Heart Strings read that first and then come back!

It really is crazy how God works. His ways are so majestic and far higher than all we can think or imagine. Truly, we wrote that blog out of a broken heart that was deeply grieved by the loss of one of our girls but God works all things for the good for those who love Him. A friend of ours read our blog and was at her husband’s soccer game, sitting in the bleachers, sharing with another wife about what had happened and this blog. The other woman felt the story was too similar to a girl her brother use to date. It turned out this woman’s brother did date our girl ‘A’ and was able to get in contact with A’s sister which linked her family to this story. Did you keep up with all that?

Long story short – since Rambled Heart Strings was published Jaime and I have been in contact with A’s family.

We were super humbled to receive an invitation to attend a memorial gathering in A’s honor on June 30^th, what would have been A’s 30^th birthday. We weren’t sure what to expect because all we knew of A’s family life was that A aged out of foster care but her siblings were adopted.

Jaime and I were both really looking forward to spending the day with A’s family and celebrating her 30^th. We were able to share with them the joy that we had during our last two visits with A and offer them hope. One of her cousins shared that we were the only ones who had contact with her in the last two years. This made us ever so thankful that the Lord put her in our path. He is so faithful to care for His children. We loved her dearly and appreciated the opportunity to honor her life.

When you read the statistics about youth that age out of foster care it is disheartening. Every year 27,000 youth age out and 50% of those 27,000 develop a substance abuse. It definitely gave the two us of a deeper desire of adoption and just how amazing that process is.

We released balloons in her honor with one hold balloon for her golden birthday, 30 on the 30^th!
Relationships make all the difference, our girls are our family!

front row parking

I pulled into the parking lot of my work this morning about an hour after I usually come in. My legs are pretty sore this morning following an hour butt kicking at crossfit and to be honest I was dreading parking far and having to walk to the door. Passing through all of the cars I saw a spot a lot closer than I expected so I immediately pulled in and I was really excited. I said ‘Thank you Jesus’ and got out of my car. The closer I got toward the door the more clearly I could see a front row spot right outside the entrance. This may sound silly, but I had a deep revelation in this moment. I thought ‘how often do I accept second best?’ – ‘how often do I settle’ – ‘how often do I give up before receiving God’s best'. Because the fact of the matter is, God wants all of us to have front row parking. When God gives us blessings it is because it brings Him joy. He doesn’t give us half fast blessings but rather abundant blessings. He doesn’t say ‘here is your perfect ice cream sundae…..minus the caramel, nuts, whipped cream, and cherry’.  

I want God’s best. I want front row parking. But, I also want to give God my best, I want to give Him front row parking, I want to give Him myself in abundance. It is out of the abundance of Him that I can offer Him the abundance of me.

the one

I think one of the sweetest things that AWOL has adopted from Donna’s leadership with 70x7 is that she always began ministry and ended ministry in prayer. Each week before we hit the streets our team unites in prayer with expectant hearts and each night we end outreach with filled hearts because God always goes above and beyond our expectations for the night. I love that His word says He prepares good works in advance for us. It’s so comforting to know that it is Him doing all of this…. Not me, not Jaime, not our team or those who serve alongside us… but HIM.

On Sunday we had plans to meet up with the girl I blogged about here. We showed up at 2pm like arranged and then we waited….and waited… truly the thought of her not showing up didn’t cross my mind. I knew we would see her and my mind was resolved on that. At 2:23pm I looked at Jaime and said that doubt had entered my mind and for the first time I thought we weren’t going to see her that day. So in normal Jaime fashion she said “well duh LF let’s just go find her”. We had no idea where she lived because any time that we had gone to her house it was dark out and after going to multiple houses in one night everything sort of bunches together. So we prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to tell us where she lived. Jaime got a word and so we followed through on it and went looking for her word… two streets later we saw a street sign with the word she got in the name of the street….so we went down it. Very quickly in we realized this street was familiar and we had been on it before…. Then we saw the house and we laughed because last time we knocked on the door to this house we were pretty sure we were going to die. But, we both thought that was the house so we went and knocked on the door. Sure enough, it was her house but she wasn’t home. The woman who answered the door told us to go back to the corner she usually is at and wait for her. So we did.. and nothing.

We had driven around and then driven some more and each time we got to this one specific street I turned right. So on the 4^th or 5^th time down this street Jaime says “LF go straight” so I did, passing my right turn. Then Jaime said “wait…. Didn’t we go to a house on this street once before and she was at a house on the corner down here…. Remember the house that you got out of the van and totally bit it and fell on your butt”…. Yeah I remembered, I also remembered Jaime laughing hysterically at me. We pulled up to the house on the corner and thought we would go knock on the door. A man across the street hollered at us and asked if we were looking for _______ and we said yes and he said she was inside that house. So we knocked on the door, someone answered, opened the door, and then walked away… it was eerie. So the guy said “you want me to go in and get her…. You her family” we said “yeah” so he did… and sure enough she came out. She hugged me and said she loved us so much and was so sorry, but she couldn’t have lunch… She told us she was still planning on leaving the streets for rehab the next day.

We drove off and we had a great peace… I think the day was more about her knowing she was worth going after, worth pursuing, worth looking for. People need to know that they are worthy of love. People need to know that someone cares enough about them to seek them out. People need to know that when they don’t show up that they are missed. People need to know that they are worth the extra mile. Just as God lead us to where she was – He is also leading her to where she is going….

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? Matthew 18:12

We left the neighborhood and our prayer was “God – please don’t let us see her tomorrow night….” because then it would mean she did what she was going to do… it would mean she left the streets, she went to rehab, and she was entering a journey of restoration…

So Monday happened…. Check back tomorrow ;)

I knew I saw her..

I was sitting in Church a few weeks ago and saw the most beautiful red head walk in with her husband. I looked at her three times and was certain that she was who I thought she was… she was one of our girls off the streets. She looked so healthy. Her face was beaming with joy and her husband looked at her adoringly. It took everything in me to not run up to her and wrap my arms around her but I stared from a distance. It was almost as if I was looking at her from a Mothers perspective and seeing the fruit of our labor, I was proud.

It wasn’t who I thought it was. But I do believe it was an indication of who she will be. I texted Jaime and said “you will never believe who is in Church today…. it is ______ in the future and she is fully restored, free from drugs, healthy, and married”. We resolved that this happened because we needed to pray for her. We know that she is very ill and is in need of a critical surgery. The next day on outreach I thought for certain we would run into her and when we didn’t I was really bummed. Again, the next week, we didn’t see her.

Last night we were driving around with Donna, leader of 70x7, in new neighborhoods that Jaime and I have not been to… we were scooping out new possible neighborhoods that All Worthy of Love would begin to do outreach in. While we were driving around my heart ached to be in our regular neighborhood so much that I asked Donna if we could leave and go to our normal route to see our girls.

The second girl we pulled up to was her…. The girl I had been waiting for… it had been weeks and there she was. I got out of the car and hugged her and told her how much we missed her and she shared she had been in the hospital. The time had come where her surgery was life or death and it needed to be done quickly. I had a sweet opportunity to release God’s healing over her and ask him to grow new valves to her heart. There were tears and smiles exchanged but the most constant image I had while looking her in the eyes was the woman I saw in Church a few weeks ago…. Her in the future.

Please join our team in prayer that she would be completely healed either by way of instantaneous healing or through surgery. If surgery, would you please pray for everything relating to health insurance and that the details with the hospital would be divinely worked out?

“When a lion roars, who can keep from being afraid? When the Sovereign Lord Speaks, who can keep from proclaiming his message” – Amos 3:8

january.

We heard that January was a slow month. We heard that the streets were usually dismal. We heard the girls would be far and few between. We heard that January would be quiet. We heard the weatherman continually forecast temperatures colder than the previous week. Jaime, Jeana, and I entered the month of January with the expectation that everything we heard about January would be different this January…….

Our leader has spent the month of January off the streets but in prayer and fasting over the ministry and seeking the Lord for what is to come. For the first time in eleven years she commissioned three of us to the streets without her physically present…. She has lead this outreach for over 10 years so you understand her surprise when she hears this January is not slow, the streets are not dismal, the girls are not far and few between, and the month is not quiet.

Twenty girls this week, nineteen the last, two dozen the week before… and the numbers increase. But it is not about numbers. The streets are not slow this month because the Spirit is active. The streets are not dismal this month because the encounters have been mind blowing. The girls are not far and few between because no matter how dark of a place you find yourself in the light attracts you and draws you near. We have seen our regular girls and we have prayed with a lot of new girls. Even girls who are still in the womb… one of our girls is 5 days away from her due date and when I laid my hand on her stomach the baby suddenly became an acrobat – she knew the Spirit. The first night out Jeana said God told her to buy cheerios, so she did…. While we were out Jamie felt like she was supposed to give them to a specific girl who then responded “I have an 18 month old and a 6 year old and they both love cheerios, thank you!” We have been able to pass out coats, scarves, gloves, and most importantly hope to more girls than we have seen since the summer.

I also could say it has not been a slow month because the spiritual warfare has been off the hook. The streets have not been dismal because every corner also has a man present guarding territory. This past week it seemed as though every girl we prayed with got a date immediately after. Satan thinks this neighborhood is his playground, but when you bring the Holy Spirit the devil doesn’t stand a chance!

During outreach Jeana had a vision that our car was leaving behind a trail of fire and then I had a vision of heating lamps… Jeana added that the heating lamps were the girls after we drove away from them, the fire of God was upon them and heat beamed off every one of them. The light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness has always got there first – but once light arrives all darkness shudders…..and that is the beauty, my beloved.

revitilization

Last night I was hanging with my sweet roommate and we were discussing how wild this last year has been. As December creeps in on us (tomorrow) as does the close of the year. 2012 has been such a huge blessing! I have continually seen the goodness of the Lord prevail in all circumstances and I have witnessed His love and His beauty in so many different areas, situations, and events. Over the last year or so my feet have touched ground in Orlando, Vegas, Haiti, Miami, Japan, Thailand, New Jersey, New York, Washington DC, Amsterdam, Florence, Rome, and most importantly, Detroit City. I have been so blessed to travel and see so many things and meet so many different people. Everywhere I go I see the Lord’s beauty. I see the Lord’s goodness. I see the Lord’s faithfulness…in the good, the trials, the lows, and the unknown…He has been so faithful. I have learned that God truly does bring all things to completion. I have watched a City sprout into a re-birth and I’ve been a part of a Community that is hungry and eager to be a part of that revitalization and restoration. I have laughed, cried, loved, hurt, and experienced life. What a joy it is to feel. I cannot express the gratitude I have for my Church community and just how loving and supportive of a family they have been. I have watched a ministry (All Worthy of Love) grow and I’ve witnessed miracles and growth on the streets. The last 12-18 months have been so abundant but truly they have all lead me back to right where I am… in the City of Detroit. Loving out my faith. Dreaming to reality. Not just seeking to witness revitalization, to desire revitalization, but to deeply be saturated in being a part of revitalization…. In Detroit and in my community of friends. I eagerly anticipate the goodness of December and the next year. May it be His will and His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven in my life, your life, and in this City.