God's Pursuit
"I meant to write to you sooner, but got bogged down with the week and then remembered to do so last night when we were at Alpha.
I was really touched by the message on Sunday and the idea of God literally pursuing us. I wanted to tell you my story of God�s pursuit of me � because I think it�s pretty incredible.
As I mentioned before, I walked away from God, my church, my faith, etc when I was 21. In the years leading up to now � several incredible things happened that proved the point of God�s pursuit.
First of all � at every job I have held (and I held a lot because I temped for 2 years) there has been a Christian in the office. At one such job, an older lady came to my desk and started up a conversation with me. After a few minutes, she looked me straight in the eye and said, �Ginger, why are you running from God?� This woman knew nothing about my spiritual life. In shock, I began talking to her about myself, God and my experiences. She prayed for me then and told me she would continue to pray. I soon left that job, since it was temporary and remained stubborn.
From job to job, I met Christians � people who asked me if I went to church or knew Jesus. People who said they�d be praying for me.
The most incredible incident happened when I was on the hunt for a permanent job. I went to interview at a small insurance office on North Foster. The man behind the desk was an older black man who smiled a broad smile as we shook hands. I saw several Christian items throughout the office and thought �well here we go again � I can�t seem to get away from these people.� We spoke briefly about the position and then he stopped. He closed the folder that held my resume, removed his glasses and said to me, �Ginger, I know that you need a job. But you didn�t come here today for a job.�
I began to get nervous and my heart was pounding.
�I didn�t?�, I stammered.
He shook his head.
�God wants me to tell you that you need to stop running from him. That he loves you and he misses his relationship with you. That he has a great plan for your life. That you�re in an ungodly relationship and you need to get out of it.�
Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I had been dating a drug addict for 3 years at that point. He was one of the reasons I�d given up on the Lord.
He then told me his testimony and told me he was involved in ministry in addition to his insurance business. He called in his secretary and another worker (all who were Christians) and we stood in a circle in that office and prayed that God would help me to find my way home.
I left the office thinking � I can�t believe this has happened! I think I�m going on a job interview and this man literally exposes my sins to me and tells me that God loves me! Ok God � Ok � I know I need to live right.
But � I still didn�t.
That man ended up sending me a library of Bible commentary along with a letter from he and his wife letting me know to call if I was ever in need. I never called though.
Two years ago, a tree fell on the car that my sister and I were driving in as we were driving it down a street in baker. (One in a million shot, right!) This was no ordinary tree � it was a giant elm that was over 250 feet tall. The front seat of the car was in the midst of the fork of the tree- thus, we were unharmed. There was a giant branch right in front of us and a giant branch filling the back seat � and though we were surrounded by smaller limbs and pretty scratched up, we weren�t crushed. Here�s a link to the pictures. http://wreck.chadleblanc.com/
There just happened to be a fire fighter from North Carolina in the car behind us who was in town for a wedding. He helped us out of the car and we collapsed in someone�s yard.
As my sister and I lay in the grass of one of the resident�s homes on that street, I wept and thought- Ok God � Ok � I�ll live right.
But I didn�t.
I�ve also had phone calls over the years from high school friends that I used to witness to who have now become Christians and have called me to let me know only to have to �witness� to me!!!
Then there was work at my last job, a �Christian� office � which would drive anyone to their knees. But not me. There were several true Christians there who prayed for me on a regular basis, though.
This new job has surrounded me with Christians again.
And here I am. Having been faced with the marital difficulties that you know about � I have surrendered to him. And I don�t plan on looking back � except to see his faithful pursuit of me through all of those years."
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