GAYNA
"As a 21-year-old brand new teacher just out of teachers training college, I was posted to Tokoroa Central school, where I knew no one and an area I didn’t know anything about.
I had very little money and wanted some company, so I flatted with five other teachers. I didn’t choose this, but the education board provided teachers with these purpose built flats, and charged virtually nothing, because no one wanted to teach there. I asked one of my new flat mates Debbie, what she did in the weekends, expecting her to say she went out with other friends and loved to party. Instead, Debbie told me she went to an amazing church. I thought, how weird.
"A short time later she invited me to go to a Baptism. I asked if that was like a christening, but she said no, these were adults who had chosen to be Baptised and went right under the water! A Christening was for babies who had no choice.
"I didn't have any plans that evening and because it all seemed super weird, I went along out of curiosity. Once there, a man was speaking at the front of the church, and we sang some songs which I thought were nice. The man who I later discovered was the Pastor then began to say ‘there is a young lady here and God is calling you' I started crying uncontrollably and this was not like me. He then continued by telling everyone personal things about me - how I felt, about my life and my private thoughts. Then he said he'd like that person to come up the front so that he could pray for them.
"Debbie asked me if I’d like to go up the front. I said no. How embarrassing, in front of all those people even though I didn’t know any of them!!
"As the Pastor continued to reveal things about me, Debbie asked again if I wanted to go up the front. This time I said yes, not because I wanted to, but because I hoped the Pastor would stop revealing my inner thoughts and my life. I didn't want everyone knowing all about me. When I got up the front the Pastor asked me if I wanted prayer. I said NO. He left me there still crying. He then came back a few minutes later and asked me again if I wanted prayer? This time I said yes but only to shut him up. I later found out the prayer, was called the sinners prayer. He led me to commit my life to Jesus. I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and make me into a new being more like Him. The moment I did that, the uncontrollable crying stopped, and an amazing peace filled me. A peace that 42 years later has never left me.
"Later that same evening I talked with Debbie about what I had done and what it all meant. She explained it was God who revealed to the Pastor the details of my life, so I would know God is real. Debbie told me that Jesus really cares for me as an individual and told me a story in her own life to illustrate it.
"She was just finishing teachers training college and knew that her graduation ceremony was coming up. She was a poor student, which I could relate to (no student loans in those days) and would have liked a new dress for the ceremony but had no money to buy one. She said she told God about this and no one else. Shortly after, and one day when she was at church, and a man came up to her and gave her some money, telling her that it was for a new dress. Well, I thought that was wonderfully amazing. A God who really does care for us as individuals. She suggested I ask God for something specific, so He could show me that he does care for me too. So that night I thought about what I could ask for.
"Something that was definitely not something anyone would think of. Over the few weeks I had come to know Debbie and her friends, I noticed that they liked to carry around substantial Bibles. Yes, it seemed weird to me. I had only ever seen small Gideon bibles before, I thought were much lighter and easier to carry and small enough to fit in a handbag. So, on that Saturday night, in the privacy of my room, I asked God for a great big Bible before Wednesday. There was no special significance about the Wednesday, but I wanted to see if God really did care for me and answer prayers.
"Next evening Debbie asked me if I wanted to go to church with her. I wasn't doing anything else so agreed to go. After the Sunday service and as I was leaving, the Pastor approached me and gave me a brown paper bag with something heavy inside. When I got into my car, and opened it, I found it was a great big red covered Bible – my favourite colour. I had never thought to ask God for that detail, yet there it was in my hands. From that moment on I have never doubted God's existence or that He hears my prayers and cares for me.
"Years later I found out the story of how I was given that Bible. My father in law, although not my father in law at that time, was a man with rather short arms and deep pockets who felt pressed to buy a Bible. He was reluctant as he personally already had several bibles and felt he didn't need or want to spend money on another. Anyway, he couldn’t shake the feeling and went to the Christian book shop to have a look. After much looking, he decided on the Bible he felt he should buy and bought it. That Sunday when he went to church, he gave the Bible to the Pastor stating he had felt to buy it but didn't know why or who it was for. He wondered if perhaps the Pastor might have some use for it. The Pastor had then given the Bible to me. It was the perfect Bible for me as a brand-new Christian, written in easy-to-understand language, full of guidance and clearly chosen by God. That it had a red cover, my favourite colour, felt deeply personal, and more than just a detail. It showed me that God sees and cares about even the smallest things in our lives and also hears the quiet prayers of our heart. God never ever ceases to surprise, excite and amaze me.
"Later when I reflected on the obedience of my father in-law, I couldn’t help but marvel at how God had prompted him to use his own money and buy a Bible, and not just any Bible, but one of that size with a red cover. I also discovered in that moment our God has a wonderful sense of humour, the first of many lessons I would learn about the character of God".
Ephesians 3.20 TPT
Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream and exceed your wildest imagination.! He will out do them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.