"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me." Philippians 4:13

Several years ago, when I was first learning about the Lord, I was at a women's conference at Christian Retreat in Bradenton, Fl. Since I was hungry to learn as much as I could about the Lord, I sat in the second row. To my left, across the aisle, was a very old woman who was totally collapsed in her chair. It turned out that she was going to be one of the main speakers that day. Her name was Fuschia Pickett.

What I witnessed when it was her turn to speak, was incredible. When it was her turn, some women came to her, helped her get up out of her chair and walked her to the podium, on the stage. All the way there, she was bent over and frail. That's when it happened!

As soon as she stood at the podium and put her hands on her Bible, it was as if life entered her! She stood up straight, spoke with strength and authority and continued in the power of the Holy Spirit until she finished giving the message that God had shared with her.

When Fuschia was finished, the ladies came to accompany her back to her seat. As soon as she left the podium, it was as if someone had let the air out of a balloon. The women helped her sit down and once again, she was bent over and frail.

I had that experience over 30 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Seeing someone filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to give them the strength to do what God called them to do was something I will never forget. This was a true example of the scripture mentioned in the title. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

It was a real encouragement to me to realize that God will give me the strength and ability to do whatever He calls me to do. I hope it is an encouragement to you also.

Dorothy with the Sparkling Blue Eyes!

A Lesson in Christian Mentoring

During and after my divorce, I was struggling financially, personally, and spiritually. I owned a business in a mall – a 12’x12’ kiosk from which I sold pretzels, chips, cookies, soft drinks, coffee, and lottery tickets. I was so overwhelmed, that the only thing I could do was seek God’s help.

God had been putting a variety of people in my life to lead me to Him. Each person had a special word for me that I could hang onto for the day or week until the next word came to build on the previous one. Then one day, someone special came to my kiosk. Someone who would change my life forever.

I was at work, and I noticed an old lady shuffle up to my kiosk. I asked if I could help her. She slammed the palm of her hand on the counter of the kiosk and said in a loud voice, “Give me some of that great coffee!” I thought she must be mistaken, and I let her know that the specialty coffee shop was in the store behind mine. She said, “I want some of your great coffee!” So, I served her. But I was hooked, totally intrigued. I thought to myself, “Who is this crazy lady?”

Her eyes were a beautiful, bright blue and were so alive, they almost sparkled. I was determined to find out more about her. Her name was Dorothy, she was 87 years old when I met her, and she came to the kiosk every day to speak with me.

The first thing she asked was, “Do you know Jesus?” I said, “Sure, I know who He is.” Immediately she realized that I did not have any understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves me.

As I poured out my woes to her, the first thing she told me was that I needed to forgive. Are you kidding me? Forgive? I had a litany of grievances, a mile long. How could I forgive? After all, wasn’t I the victim in this story? She didn’t budge. She told me that unforgiveness would only hurt me and my children. It wouldn’t do anything to punish my ex-husband. She continued encouraging me to forgive and gave me the following prayer to help get me started.

“I have faith in the living, loving presence of God within me.

How wonderful it is to know that God and I,

Together here, in the midst of this condition, this challenge,

Can heal and perfect all things.

My faith has made me well.”

I memorized that prayer and said it several times a day. It always brought me peace. (It wasn’t until more recently that I realized that the “loving presence of God within me” is the Holy Spirit living within me, who is my comforter, my counselor, my help, leading me in all the truth.)

She continued her mentoring by encouraging me to have absolute faith. She said that many Christians pray, but then say, “What if this? or What if that?” They end up second guessing God and rather than trusting that He will take care of whatever the situation, they try to fix things their own way. I am still working on that. I long for the day when the Lord says, “Do it this way,” and I say, “Yes, Sir!”

Dorothy’s constant message was love. Love your children, love others. Forgiveness is part of this message. Amazingly, she did not use a lot of Scriptures. Her life and her love for me spoke volumes and encouraged me to learn more about the God she so absolutely trusted in. Which is what I did. I read, went to church, Christian meetings. I fervently sought the Lord. And I found Him.

To me it was amazing that the Lord provided me with an unassuming mentor like Dorothy. She was faithful to meet with me daily for three years! Who does that? She would pray for me each time I went to court. She listened to me through all my complaining and questioning. If she couldn’t make it to the mall, I would go to her house for a visit. Each time, without preaching, she encouraged me to draw closer to God and trust in Him completely.

In reflecting, I am humbled and amazed that God would love me so much that He would send a Dorothy to mentor me. I am embarrassed to say that I was so hardheaded and proud, that it took three years to get through to me. It was a process which is still going on over 30 years later. Fortunately, God is patient with us. As we trust in God for our families, we need to remember that and be patient and loving to them.

I went to see her in the hospital when she was dying. She told me that she would be going home soon. I knew she meant heaven and that she would be happy there. She said that she didn’t want to go yet, because there was so much more to do with me. I asked her if she would do me a favor when she left. I said, “Will you put in a good word for me when you go?” She laughed and said, “Of course”.

Dorothy died in December, just before her 90th birthday. Are we ever too old to work for God? A month later, in January, I gave my heart to the Lord and asked Him to be my Savior. I thank God for Dorothy, the time we spent together, and the impact she had on my life.

Quote

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” – Henri Nouwen

A Summer Miracle

By Fran Marx

How would I make it through the summer? As I looked around the mall from my kiosk, that thought kept running through my mind. I had been in business for almost nine years. During that time, the mall had peaked, sold, and was now on a quickly descending spiral to its demise. Rumor had spread that the mall was being sold to be demolished, making room for a strip mall. Merchants were leaving each week.

I was at a point where I was working more hours so that I could pay my employees and my bills. I was taking no salary for myself. It was the beginning of May, historically one of the slowest months of the year. Five more merchants had closed their businesses. I had plenty of prayer time during the day because of my lack of customers. One day I asked the Lord, “God, how can I make it during the summer and through to December, when my lease ends?” I felt impressed with the Scripture: Psalm 91:7 which says, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” I immediately felt a sense of peace even though I still did not understand how I would make it. I only knew that I would.

I had a close relationship with all my customers, so seeing the condition of the mall, they were worried about my future. I would come to work happy and all day long, out of their concern, they would inadvertently plant seeds of doubt in my mind. I would go home beaten down, my husband would encourage me in God’s promises, and I would return to work ready to face another day. This roller coaster continued for a couple of days before I realized how to stop it.

I printed a copy of the verse the Lord had given me and placed it on my counter at work. When a customer came in and expressed doubt about my future, I would point to the Scripture and say, “I don’t know what I will be doing after the mall closes, but I do know that I will be alright.” Some would walk away shaking their heads in disbelief and some would encourage me, but I never went home discouraged again!

As the summer went on, I told the Lord that I wanted to go out of business in style. Merchants had been leaving in the middle of the night. Most were embittered and angry, but I wanted to go out with a smile on my face and bringing glory to God. I never could have imagined what He would have in store for me.

During one of my workday prayer times I asked the Lord how I could possibly accomplish my goal of ending my business on a bright note. I received the image of the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-38). It is a story of how God does the impossible to show that He is the one true God. I was really excited! My next question was, “How would God do this?” In a short time, I was given the first part of my answer.

One segment of my business was selling lottery tickets. About a week after my prayer, the lottery called to inform me that they wanted to sponsor a huge promotion at my store which included a mock TV game show, a wind machine where customers would grab for lottery tickets, and a spinning wheel filled with prize options. While on the phone, I looked around the mall at all the empty stores. Since I was familiar with lottery promotions I knew that in themselves they did not bring in the numbers of customers that would warrant a promotion of that size. If fact, in my nine years of business, I had never seen a promotion of that magnitude.

My inclination was to say, “Sorry, but the mall is like a ghost town and the promotion would never work here.” But remembering what the Lord had shown me, I did not want to miss a blessing. So rather than expressing my initial thoughts, I recommended that the lottery call the mall manager. I said, “If he approves, then it is okay with me.”

Of course, he approved. The date was set for November. For the next couple of months, I struggled with not telling the lottery that the mall was basically empty. Rather than speaking with the lottery officials, I kept holding onto God’s promise.

Toward the end of October, I thought of giving my customers an invitation. I handed out invitations to my “Going out in style” party and told them that there would be a lottery promotion and free coffee and cake for customers as long as the cake lasted. As the date approached, the lottery happened to roll over two or three times making the jackpot higher and the possibility of customers buying tickets more probable.

The day finally arrived. The party was supposed to start at 10:00 a.m., but by 9:00 a.m. the crowds started to gather. As the day went on, there was a continuous flow of people everywhere you looked. The spirit of joy was incredible! Everyone was having a great time. The cake that was supposed to feed 80 fed more than double that amount. My end of mall was filled with people all day long. In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak to everyone from a stage. I thanked my customers and the Lord for the nine years we had together in the mall. I told the people how much I appreciated them and thanked God for His presence during my time in business there.

As if to put a cherry on an ice cream sundae, one of the most memorable and rewarding moments was when an older customer came up to the kiosk to speak with me. He said, “Do you know why I came to your business everyday for nine years?” I responded that I didn’t. He said, “Because each day, you were the only person who would smile at me and touch my hand. If I ever needed prayer, you were there for me.” His comments really touched my heart and showed me how God was working through me during those nine years in the mall. I thought I was there just making a living.