an encounter with God...

Well, being the dad or should I say a male, I am not one that blogs or keeps record of as many things as I should. Maybe because I'm not as studious as the wife is nor do I have much to share with anyone. However, something happened last night that I want to document somewhere.

It was late, the kids should have been in bed hours ago. However, when I went to snatch my pillow from the already sleeping 5yo who had become quite comfortable in my bed (see my wife's earlier blog), I heard voices coming from what we call the "parlor". Honestly, my first feeling was frustration. It was 10:00...why aren't they sleeping?!! I popped on the lights for a more intense affect and said in my best "agitated" dad voice, "why are you still up? It's 10:00, you should be sleeping already." Then I went into some blabbering about taking advantage of a privilege, turned off the light, and said, "goodnight"...as roughly as could be said I would guess. I continued with my activity of migrating downstairs to find a place to sleep.

Soon afterward, my wife came down stairs and told me the kids have something to tell me. I was sure a confession was coming or something of the sort. It wasn't that at all. #3 and #4 were both in tears. It appears that they had an encounter with God. My son had been praying that he could have the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone...as it turned out, he was able to share with his sister in her time of troubles and relate it to scripture in a way that really made sense to her. It was a touching moment for both of them. They cried, hugged and realized it was the Lord working in their lives. My heart was warmed with a knowledge and recall of experiencing similar workings from the Lord. It was a moment that I pray they don't forget, it's times like those that really reinforce that God is real and He is anxious to be part of our lives, even the lives of a 9 and 10 year old.

The following is the typed message that he gave me of the conversation the next morning. (I changed the names to the appropriate numbering scheme.)
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The Miracle
Last night #4 and I were doing prayer time before bed and I prayed that some way I could
share the Gospel and when I was done #4 said that it wasn't like me to pray that long
and that she was having a hard time waking up in the morning .So I told her not to say “yo” because
that is what they say when they're awake. And after that we just started to talk about struggles
and hardships. And when we were done #4 said it was the best message she ever heard.
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My words don't really describe the moment...God is wonderful and faithful. He says that if we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him. I love it when He rewards us with affirmation and His perfect timing. How do you explain that to a non believer that they may also personally experience the One that loves them the most? They might also experience the personal touch of the LORD. He will if they allow it. If anyone even reads this, please pray for my father and mother as well as my wonderful in-laws that they may know the great reward of being a slave to the Lord instead of the things that have ensnared them.

It was a precious moment. Just to think that I tried to thwart God's plan by disrupting their conversation...but He would have none of it. Thank you Lord.