I believe in testimony. It’s a simple way for us to remind each other of the power of God in our lives, of where we are and who we are and what we represent. It’s a good way to reach out to a neighbor and give them a goose, a pat, some encouragement. It’s really good if you’re in a small, informal church, like the ones I attend, so you know everyone and everyone who wants to speak has a chance to.
Recently, I gave a testimony. It was preceded and followed by testimonies about brain tumors disappearing and families being saved from paralysis through the power of prayer, about God hearing a prayer said during a coma and passing the word on to the physician. That was a really good one.
Here is an amplified version of my testimony:
Since I came to Houston, I have been given many opportunities to help others by giving them some money. When I have the money, I do this, because I have never reached the end of the week and thought If I just hadn’t given that guy $2 for food or $20 so he could a room on a cold night, I would have enough money to get what I need.
(My mother says you should do this because you never know when they might be angels. The guy I gave the $20 to wanted to pray with me and hold my hand, and the whole time I just kept thinking I am going to get the flu from this guy. But I didn’t.)
This week we saw a guy digging through the trash at McDonalds, and I asked him if he needed something to eat, and he said yes. So I gave him $6. And then other things came up, (I adopted a kitten and had to get him some stuff), and I was worried that I was going to run short. And I was thinking that maybe I would need to count that Alms-giving as part of my Offering and give less at church.
It was time to do laundry, and I gathered up all the quarters we had and I got a $20 bill and put it in my pocket. We got to the laundromat and got the machines loaded, and it was time to get the quarters, and I looked in my pocket for that bill, and it wasn’t there. I had two fives and four ones and the quarters, and no twenty. I looked and looked. I looked in pockets I knew I had not put it in, and I thought well, I must have set it down instead of putting it in my pocket.
But we got the laundry done, and were down to the last dryer, and thought maybe we needed one more dollar’s worth of quarters, and I put my hand in my pocket, and there was that twenty dollar bill.
Now, you can say I am just a crazy old woman who can‘t keep track of things (or if you’re one of my kids, that the Brownies have been in my pockets, although I certainly hope they have not), but to me, that was God saying “As long as You’re with me, there will always be enough“.
That was my testimony. Everyone enjoyed it. The Chaplain said that it was good because we frequently forget to acknowledge God in the little things that happen in our lives.
The next week, it was time to go to Chapel, and I put some treats in the kitten’s bowl, so he wouldn’t follow me, and that was the last I saw of him. I was distraught. I am crazy about this kitten. And I prayed and prayed. Please bring him home. And someone did. He was just a few rows over, and when Paul Nolan found out I was looking for him, he carried him home.
So, I go back to Chapel, and people are giving testimonies. But this time, I didn’t stand up and say The Lord brought my kitten home. The Lord gave me a friend, who knew I was missing my baby and took the time to catch and carry him back. Thank you, Paul. Thank you Lord.
Other people where telling more stories about blindness turning into light, more brain tumors disappearing, and I just didn’t think a kitten coming home noting mentioning.
But I was wrong. I should have said so. It was God’s Hand and it should have been acknowledged.
So I am acknowledging it here, and I am saying this is what I was reminded:
God is in the Big Things.
God is in the Small Things.
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with
whatever gift each of you has received. -- 1 Peter 4:10
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