Favor

My mother, her big brother & sister.
I think she still likes him!

When I was just a little girl my big brother was my hero.  I was sure he knew everything and could do anything.  Sometimes he would find a way to climb to a higher place in the tree we played in almost every day.  He would lead me to the higher spot telling me exactly what to hold on to and where to place my feet.  Other times he placed me on a high place and told me to jump into his waiting arms.  I never hesitated to jump or climb.  I had absolute confidence he knew what he was talking about and he was plenty strong enough to catch me.  I also knew that he loved me and risk hurting me.  You might say I was in his favor.

There was a couple in the church where I grew up who only had boys and they were teenagers.   They always wanted a little girl but it did not happen.  Occasionally they would invite me home with them for a Sunday afternoon.  It was always a wonderful day.  I was the focus of everyone’s attention.  The boys would show me the animals, the tractors and other types of equipment.  There was a swing in a tree and someone to push.  At lunch one Sunday,  Sister Rollins asks me if everybody loved me.  I immediately went through my family, church family, and school then concluded that everyone I knew loved me.  I knew what favor felt like.

As a girl of eleven life was not so innocent.  Our family was crumbling and life was hard, however, during this time God placed some key people along my path.  After I married I saw these people again and discovered that they had prayed for me from eleven until after my marriage.  I guess you could say I had found favor with God and man.

Favor - friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill: to win the favor of the king; the state of being approved or held in regard

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. (Luke 1:28-30 KJV)

Mary, an ordinary girl from Galilee having found favor with the King, had a visit from an angel.  The greeting given by the angel was a little disconcerting.  What could the words mean?   This first statement of Gabriel was simply a greeting and a declaration of favor.   God was with Mary and she had been graciously approved as one whom God could use.  We are not given much information on Mary but we can glean some insight when we look at her reaction to the message of the angel.  In verse 33 Mary ask a question, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”  The next thing Mary did was listen to the answer that was given to her.  The next words she spoke were words of surrender to the will of God.  There was not a moment’s hesitation.  I suggest Mary believed that God loved her and trusted Him completely.  The angel sees Mary’s bewilderment and speaks calming words.  Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Just as I needed not fear jumping into the arms of my big brother, Mary did not need to fear birthing the Christ child.  There is no fear in favor!

Many Blessings,

Virginia

 

If you were to ask any of my brothers or I which child our mom most favors, we would all say, her oldest son, Michael. But we would be joking, if you cornered each one and asked for an honest answer, I suspect we might each say it was us. That's the thing about my mother, she not only knows favor she know how to show favor.  I think that's how God is. He has shown us all favor. The question is how do we respond? 

 

 

People, Places, Time and Circumstance

At a set time in the history of mankind the angel Gabriel was sent by God with an individualized message to a particular person in an exact place with a certain set of circumstances.

Johnny Hicks 1959

Ginny Perry 1960

In December of 1961 when other kids were looking forward to Christmas break, I checked out of school and told my principal I would not be returning. As a teacher myself now, I understand how educators feel when kids make poor choices, choices that will affect their education and future.  The expectation for these children is very low.  Who would have given much hope  to a fifteen year old girl and an eighteen year old boy having a successful marriage, one that would last fifty years?    

In April of 1958 my husband who lived in Louisiana turned 15.  His Dad was very ill most of that year and in October he died.  My husband stayed with an older sister and her family much of 1958 and 1959.

About a week before my twelfth birthday in May of 1958 a judge ruled that my two sisters, my little brother and I would taken to an orphanage when school was out.  Instead, my mother took us and ran away to California.  This was one of the darkest times of my life.  I needed my Daddy, but I did not know where he was and he did not know where I was.  We returned to Texas in August of that year.  My parents were divorced on December 26, 1958.

In 1959 a week after his sixteenth birthday, my husband’s Mother died.  The older three children tried to keep the younger five together but that was next to impossible.  Eventually, they all came to Waxahachie, Texas to the older brother’s home.  It was here that his sister-in-law Bonnie began to show him Christ.

In 1960 my husband turned 17 and I turned 14.  He continued to bounce back and forth between Georgia and Texas.  Then, my brother started dating his sister.  I met my husband for the first time.

In January of 1961 I was in a terrible car wreck.  It damaged my sight and I was not able to finish the school year.  My husband who had turned eighteen came back to Texas and dropped out of school.  In May, about the time I turned fifteen, he showed up where I was working.  We started dating.  December 29, 1961 we married.

My husband and I were kids who knew what a home was but did not have one anymore.  I saw strength (like my Daddy’s) in him.  He saw in me someone he could count on.  Even though it seemed far-fetched to the majority of people God saw an orphan boy from the piney woods of Louisiana and a little girl from a broken home in Central Texas that He could use to further His Kingdom and bring honor to the Father.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city in Galilee, named Nazareth,  to a virgin espoused to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26 & 27)

The timing for many events of our life is out of our control, but nothing is out of the control of our Heavenly Father.  Mary and certainly Joseph were not expecting a visit from the angel Gabriel in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy; however, God had the people, the circumstances, the time and the place percisely planned. Scripture says in Malachi 3:1 that a messenger would come and prepare the way for the Messiah.  John the Baptist was born six month before Jesus. Isaiah 7:14 tells us that the mother of the Messiah will be a virgin; Chapter 9: 6 & 7 tell about the Messiah ruling on the throne of David forever.  We read in Matthew 2:23 about Jesus coming from Nazareth to fulfill prophecy. Indeed, God always knows what He is doing!!

The first time my Daddy came to visit me after my marriage I was so excited for him to meet my new sister-in–law, Bonnie.  As soon as he met her tears came to his eyes, and he said that God had answered his prayer.  Christmas of 1960 in a time of great despair over his children my daddy cried unto the Lord and waited in his presence until an answer came.  God promised if he (my dad) would minister to the children and young people he came in contact with, then God himself would send someone to minister to his children.  Bonnie, my husband’s sister-in-law, and my sister and very best friend, has had more godly influence on both our lives than any other person we know.  What a faithful God we have!

Don’t you love to see the way God weaves lives together and orchestras the events for His glory and for our well being!

Many Blessings,

Virginia

The thing I love about reading my mother's story is to see how it connects and flows into my own. What about you? What particular people and places has God woven in your life? What circumstances has he used to color your story? How can you look back and see the perfection of His timing?  One of the great things about looking back is that it often makes it easier to look forward! 

Ronda

A Handmaiden of the Lord

As I've shared over the last several months, I have been blessed with many wonderful teachers and witnesses to the truth and none more precious to me than my mother!  I admire her unrelenting (sometimes downright stubborn) faith more than I can tell you. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share my mother with each of you as she writes of  truths she has learned and shared with me along our way.    

You will want to listen!

Ronda

My mother standing
in front of the church her
dad began in Glen Rose

My first memory as a child was at a Cottage Prayer Meeting.  I was about three.  My Dad had started an Assembly of God church in Glen Rose, Texas.  When we went to the prayer meeting Mother sat my older brother, my sister and me down at a specific place where we were to stay until the meeting was over.  No noise was allowed.  The only options that were available to us were to look or listen.  There were just a few people, but they knew how to get in touch with God for their needs.  As a child I was just listening.  I can still hear the sound of people interceding for others, and waiting in the presence of God, then the sound of praise and thanksgiving when the answer comes.    It was not loud; rather it was like a quiet hush that went up to the throne room of God as simple people of faith poured out their particular needs to their heavenly Father. God knew while I was yet in my Mother’s womb that I am an auditory learner and He allowed me to be present at such a meeting more than once.  What I took from there was the sound of earnest prayer, waiting on God, and rejoicing when the answer comes.  My life has taught me to interpret the meaning of those sounds.

Our family, during my parent's
first pastorate.

Years later I was a young pastor’s wife attending an early morning prayer meeting at the district minister’s retreat in Monroe, Louisiana.  This particular morning there was one preacher standing with his face to the wall and his posture said he was agonizing before God with a great need. There were pastors and their wives kneeling at the altars and pews all around the auditorium.  I was seated on a pew just absorbing the atmosphere; listening to the sounds of earnest prayer.  I felt as though I was seated in His presence.  Then from behind me I heard someone say, "The handmaid of the Lord.”  I immediately turned to see who had spoken, but no one was behind me.  I looked around and noticed that no one else had responded to the words.   I realized God had spoken to me.  It was a calling to a greater service and a preparation for what lay ahead.  My times are in your hands.  Psalms 31:15a

As I began to read Luke 1: 26-38 the Word began to leap from the page into my heart.  Then I began to write what the Lord was whispering in my heart.  Following is a summary of these whisperings.    

At a set time in the history of mankind the angel Gabriel was sent by God with an individualized message to a particular person in an exact place with a certain set of circumstances. He brought a declaration of favor, an assignment, and words of encouragement about the assignment.  

 In the next few weeks I want to share some of these truths with you. 

Many Blessings,

Virginia

I find it funny that my mother attaches her learning to sounds. When I was growing up, the one thing she couldn't stand was noise, particularly in the morning! (Mirror, Mirror on the wall!)  Although, she did describe "quiet" in both experiences, didn't she?  While she never told us to "shut up" - that was a curse word at our house - she could say "be quiet" firmer than anyone I know!