Sharing the Story

Sinti couple at home; anonymous

Do you have a story your family needs to hear?
   Last Sunday we worshipped with Sinti Romany believers in a village south of here. A number of other Christian Sinti from France and Belgium had joined them for a special evening service. Several of their Sinti guests from Belgium shared what God had done for them. This is one of those stories.
   The middle-aged woman from Belgium, let's call her Monique, had been very depressed. Her husband misused drugs, beginning with legal ones like alcohol and ending . . . well, there didn't seem to be an end. She was so depressed that she thought of making an end--of her own life.
  One evening, when she was seriously thinking of this, her sister and brother-in-law came to visit. They were Christians. They shared the good news about Jesus with her. Perhaps they had done this before, but this time it took root in her heart. They told her that she could pray by herself and ask Jesus to come into her heart. They were praying for her, too.
After they left, she went into her room by herself, got down on her knees, and prayed. "Jesus, please have my husband come home tonight. Then I will know that you exist, that you care for me. Please take my life."
   When she finished praying, she heard the door open. It was her husband. God had heard and immediately answered her prayer. This was end to her life of misery. Instead of the death she had contemplated, Jesus gave her--and her husband*--new life.
  Reading the story of the man restored to his right mind (Mark 5) reminded me of this other story of Jesus healing and restoring life. The man who had lived among the tombs went and told what Jesus had done, first to his family and neighbors, then throughout the entire region.
Jesus told the man to stay at home. People at home need to hear the God-stories you have to tell.


*He shared his story, too. But that's another blog entry.