Love is the Same in Any Language

One of the ways that WBC seeks to Carry Christ’s love to the world is by supporting missionaries from all over the world. Here is a story from Jamie Newport, a WBC missionary in France, who writes of her experience of being a chaperone for 10 days on school trip with her daughter. She reminds us that loving others is the same in any language as she

I was helping the teacher get a roomful of very rowdy, disobedient, disrespectful fourth grade girls to go to bed. As I was telling them (in French of course) to go to bed, etc. they started making fun of my French, right in front of my face. Not only that, but they were talking about me as if I didn't understand any French either. Each time I spoke to them, they would mock my very words back to me and laugh... well, you can only imagine what kind of emotions were going on inside of me. I am not used to having anyone make fun of me "for real" right to my face, especially not children, and as an adult, I was hurt and my self-confidence felt pretty shaken. In short, they were just being mean. At that point the teacher came in and finished my job (another humiliation) and I left feeling hurt and angry, after-all, I am 44years old and they are about 9 years old. I can make their life pretty miserable if I want to, and at that moment I wanted to! But as I went back to my room to nurse my wounds, Jesus spoke very clearly to me that this very situation was an opportunity for me to forgive and show His love rather than withdraw (in fear and anger) and look for revenge. I prayed He would give me wisdom to know what that would look like.”

The next morning the answer awaited me in Proverbs 25:21-22. Give, love, serve your enemies and in SO DOING you heap burning coals on their head... (paraphrase mine). Yes, that was it, I was going to LOVE those girls to death and in so doing, I KNEW they would be uncomfortable and wonder "why?” At breakfast I went out of my way to say "Good morning", smile, give some loving pats and tousling of hair... you could see in their eyes how surprised they were and the thoughts "Why is she being nice to us??"

Each chance I had to be gentle and kind, to move toward them with interest and to talk to them, I took it. This went on for several days. Then one day one of the girls made fun of my French again to my face, but instead of backing away, I stopped her and had her repeat the word so I could say it correctly and then I asked her what the same word was in English (which she didn't know) and had her repeat it (which she couldn't do)... ahhh, now her eyes registered the fact that, maybe learning another language wasn't all that easy..... God's way is always so sweet!

This continued the whole trip as day after day it became a game between us for me to improve my pronunciation and for them to learn some English words. By the end of the week, I had even taught them to say "yes ma'am" and one little girl in particular I taught to say "I am stubborn." But the final victory came the last night of the trip as I was going to each bedroom to say good-night. As God would have it, it was the very same bedroom where they had scoffed at my French the first day--it was here the little girl I had taught to say "I am stubborn" reached up to me and asked "Will you give me a bisous?" (A bisou is a kiss good-night). I was shocked! & then each girl in turn asked for their bisou and as I walked out of that bedroom I KNEW that the LOVE of Christ had won the victory that week!!! The power of the gospel. I was so excited!!! Now when I see those girls at school they all run up and want to talk and "fair le bis" (give the French cheek kissing greeting) and such... if I had stayed angry and hurt and withdrawn (my normal reaction) I never would have had the privilege to see God work in this way. . . . May the Lord use these new relationships with these girls & boys to open more doors to more families here in Albertville.

Levi's Story

God seeks to bring maturity to us in all sorts of ways. It is difficult to understand how God uses hard times of suffering to grow us up. Listen to Levi’s story and see how God used a tragedy to bring total strangers together so that he could develop maturity in everyone that was involved in life of little 3 day old Levi Gritsavage.

Levi Anthony Gritsavage was three days old. He was Ed and Angela Gritsavage’s third child, and their third son.

Levi’s tiny body was formed with three abnormalities that had threatened his life even within the womb: a double cleft palate, a too-small aorta, and a small sac of internal organs that protruded from his abdominal wall. It’s a condition clinically termed trisomy 13, meaning there’s an extra chromosome in each cell. It was amazing that Levi had lived this long. Ed and Angela focused on their newest son, knowing that every minute they could spend with him was a precious gift.

It was 1:00 on a windy afternoon in North Carolina when Levi died. Ed’s mother, Ellen, was on her patio, her thoughts and prayers continually on her critically fragile grandbaby miles away in Texas. Ed’s parents are godly people who continually seek to hear God's voice or see His hand in the events of life. When Ellen noticed a small white feather float to the ground, she thought, “I bet Levi just passed away”, and she checked the time. After returning from a walk, she and her husband John found that in spite of the strong wind, the white feather had lodged in a quiet corner of the patio. Ellen retrieved it as a memorial to their grandson, whose given names mean promise and praiseworthy. It was soon confirmed that Levi had indeed passed away at the very same time the feather fell to the ground.

So where are the promises and praises in this sad story? In just a short little time, Levi Gritsavage’s life did plenty to illustrate God’s promises and praiseworthiness.

When Ed and Angela learned that her pregnancy wasn’t “normal”, they had recently moved to Waxahachie and joined the fellowship of Waxahachie Bible Church. They both had strong family foundations of a practical, living faith in the sovereignty and power of a loving and wise God. They didn’t doubt, get angry, or stress about how to “cope”. They felt they just needed to live it out; that they had no choice but to go through this, so their attitude was, “let’s just do it in a way that honors God and preserves our testimony. God has chosen us for this for a purpose, and we don’t want to mess it up.” Bible passages they had learned growing up were a great support, as were the lyrics to good Christian music. Angela found her morning “alone time” especially precious. Before her two older boys, Elijah and Josiah, were awake, she enjoyed time with just herself, God, and little Levi as he grew each day within her. The doctors had said that she could lose him at any time, so every morning that she could feel him moving was cause for thanksgiving.

That’s not to say that there weren’t difficult times. Angela explained, “Easter was a hard Sunday for me. We had just found out about Levi’s condition and I wanted to focus on the Lord but all I could think about was God’s power to heal and restore life. My comfort was in the hope I could have. I struggled with how to pray; what to ask for. Jesus knew what He had to go through and still asked for the cup to pass, so I felt that I, not knowing all we would have to go through, could also ask the same. Bruce preached that day on not putting God in a box. I realized that I was expecting God to let my baby live because my sister had lost a baby five years earlier, and surely He wouldn’t allow this to happen twice in the same family; I realized that was a box I was putting God into.”

Even before Levi was conceived, God was at work creating a network of believers to encourage and sustain Angela and Ed. Looking back, they could see how God had chosen and provided believers at church, doctor’s offices, and even the funeral home – strong testimony of His promises to provide all their needs.

A huge part of that network for Angela is Becky Jones, who serves with WBC’s Baby Blessings ministry. Most of her calls to expectant mothers are short, sweet, and cheery. She knew this one would be different, and prayed for extra wisdom and compassion before she picked up the phone and punched in Angela’s number. It turned out that she had no idea how very different this would turn out to be, but God certainly did.

Over the months before Levi’s birth, Becky and Angela went from total strangers to close friends and sisters in Christ. At the time this was written Becky ministered with her main resource, which was time. She was available to babysit or listen or pray throughout Angela’s pregnancy and continued to do so in Angela’s time of grieving. It would take another whole article to describe how God used these two women to bless, teach, inspire, encourage and help each other. Angela says, “My entire family has gained a close friend, godly example, and a prayer supporter through Becky - even my boys love her.” Becky insists that in seeking to bless Angela, she was the one who received the greater blessing, as she observed Ed and Angela’s steadfast faith, and mature marriage and parenting relationships.

Many of Angela’s prayers were answered as Levi came into the world. She treasured the nine months she carried him. She and Ed were so grateful to get to hold and love him even for three short days. They don’t know yet how God will ultimately use Levi’s life, but they know that promises and praises will continue to descend, just like that soft little white feather, every time his story is told.

Personal Worship Leads to Relational Love

What is worship? That is a huge question and this article will not seek to adequately answer it here, but may be it will leads us to think more clearly about what worship is. Worship is more than a song. Worship is more than a part of a worship service. Worship is more than a worship service. Worship is living a life that brings God glory. Certainly we can give God glory in a worship service on Sunday morning, but that is only part of worship. Another important part of worshipping God takes place when we are at home and walking through our daily lives. Listen to these words from Amanda Yates as she learns some lessons of how to relate to other people through the process of worshipping God at home through her personal bible reading a prayer.

I wanted to share with you some hard lessons I have learned over the past couple of weeks. I have been trying to find a teaching job since I graduated last year and I have been unable to find one. Recently, God brought to my attention a scripture. Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. I have been trying to do that. I have been reading my bible and meditating over his word and spending alot of time praying. One thing that God showed me was that everyone else has been praying fervently for a job for me and I have been praying lazily. Which is why I have been praying and reading more. Next, God showed me that I should be pleasing him and not looking for acceptance and accolades from others. I have had to pray and work through that alot. Then, he showed me that no matter what happens at work or what I may face I need to work unto him and work hard everyday doing what is right for him. Finally, the last one today was one of the hardest. I have felt conviction for gossiping and sharing too much information with others. I have heard his rebuke and continued to tell things about myself that should not have been shared with others. A friend prayed for me a few weeks ago that God would heal my past hurts and that the meditations of my heart and the words from my mouth would be pleasing to him. Today as I was doing my Bible study I received a text. A friend, who had told me things about her sons ex-girlfriend who also happens to have a mother who works at our school, was mad because the mother found out. The mother of the young lady was very upset and told my friend that I told someone else she said these things. I talked to my husband and I prayed. My husband told me to go to the person/persons I offended and make it right and take whatever they dished out to me. I prayed and I did that. I do not remember what all I said because it was awhile ago that I said things or rather asked about things I had heard. I spoke with the young girls mother and apologized for speaking and asking about things about her daughter without knowing her. I apologized perfusely. The saddest part is that I know this young lady and she is kind, beautiful and a joy to be around. She has encouraged me and my daughter. My heart is broken that something I repeated could ever have harmed her. The mother accepted my apology but she is mad at the person who told me these things because I guess I was not the only one she told nor was this the first incident. I have apologized to all parties involved that I could speak to. I have asked forgiveness, but yet again this was a hard lesson. So these are my lessons over the past few weeks.

1. NEVER GOSSIP

2. DON'T PREJUDGE PEOPLE

3. USE YOUR WORDS FOR BUILDING UP AND EDIFICATION

4. BE JOYFUL, KIND, LOVING, COMPASSIONATE AND BE A JOY TO BE AROUND

5. GIVE TO OTHERS WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART

6. DON'T TELL PEOPLE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF OR OTHERS

7. WORK UNTO THE LORD

8. PRAISE GOD WHEN HE TEACHES YOU AND LISTEN WHEN HE REBUKES YOU

9. TRUST YOUR HUSBAND, GOD GAVE HIM TO ME FOR A REASON LISTEN TO HIS WISE COUNSEL

10. DELIGHT IN THE LORD YOUR GOD AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART. LET THE MEDITATIONS OF YOUR HEART AND MOUTH PLEASE THE LORD. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU. DO NOT LET YOUR RIGHT HAND KNOW WHAT YOUR LEFT IS DOING. SEEK GODLY COUNSEL AND WORK UNTO THE LORD!!