The silent influencers...

I did not grow up in a Christian home. Sure, my relatives believed in God, even feared Him in many ways, but they were so confused by the sin in their lives that living for Jesus seemed impossible to them.

But there were silent influencers in my life, those who exhibited the love and wisdom of God, who affected me very profoundly.

When I was 17 years old, a few families moved into our area who practiced their Christianity right in front of everyone. The joy, the love and the life of God they shared were like a magnet to my thirsty soul. I took every opportunity to observe how they lived, how they acted towards each other, and I listened carefully whenever they answered the questions from others as to the how’s and why’s of their life of commitment.

It was one thing to read and hear about walking out the salvation of God, but to witness folks who were more than a few religious expressions deep made the whole Word of God come to life in a way that I had never experienced before, even though I was saved at the age of 12. By watching people like these I soon discovered that God's Word could be lived out through an intimate relationship with His son, Jesus!

And when I entered the U.S. Army, God did a wonderful thing for me. It was during my technical training that I came into close contact with the young Christian parents of a toddler. They had met and fallen in love while attending Bible college, and the wife had a degree in “Home Economics”—something that is unheard of today. She taught me, mostly by the way she lived, that it was important to love and cherish one’s husband, and that it was also important to love and cherish children (especially the rewards given to us by God).

When my husband and I were expecting our first baby, it was to her that I ran whenever I had a question or concern. She spent hours on the phone encouraging and counseling me. Then later, when she was expecting her second baby, she introduced me to the idea of homeschooling—this was in 1983—and I was aghast with incredulity! I have to admit that I argued with her, bringing the same old tired objections I hear all the time now (it gives me reason for extra patience for those who don’t understand the virtue and riches of godly homeschooling). Wouldn’t she be blessed to see me now, 15 children later (and more than 27 years), homeschooling each and every one of them!

While in the hospital after giving birth to my first daughter, I was so scared! I had never been around babies, and even when I held one, it cried and I had no way of knowing how to console it. Even the men around me could handle babies better—I was in real trouble!

So when I was in the recovery room waiting for them to bring my newborn baby to me to nurse for the very first time, I called on the only Name that is truly there—I called on Jesus to help me.

I roomed in the hospital (the stay was four days back then—yes, I have been having children for that long!) with a young mother who relished in her baby, and she was so enamored with him that she had to share it with everyone, she was a Christian, and by watching her I learned more than could have been told me in a multitude of sermons. I never knew motherhood could be so wonderful; I was the “accident” that ruined my parents’ marriage, and both my sister and myself were pains and bothers. But this lady didn’t act cold towards her child; she held him and caressed him and kissed him all over!

It was through watching her that I came out of a very dark place; one in which not even compassion for a tiny babe was allowed. I was given permission to fully vent all of the affection and adoration I had for that tiny little one I held in my arms. My love and attention for her never ruined her, and to this day (she is now 27) I consider her to be one of my dearest friends on earth, and vice-versa. Jesus has answered my prayers!

Marx had a theory. If we, foolish Christians, would all just give up that misplaced faith in a God we can not see, society could finally learn to have all things in common; life, after all, would then be heaven on earth! But his theory didn't work then, and it doesn’t work now. Russia’s experiment failed with the blood of millions, China has all but abandoned it, and only a few tiny, socialistic adherents remain to cling to such ridiculous collectivist ideals. Anyone can build lofty cloud castles in the air—“pie in the sky” they call it.

But God’s ideas are not just theoretical, they are concrete, and they will work anywhere, at any time. They will work in a death camp in Nazi Germany. They will work in the prison tuberculosis ward in Communist Romania, they will work in the refugee camps in the Sudan. They will even work in a suburban home in America today!

When I was a little girl, I wanted above all things for my daddy and mommy to love one another, and I wanted to walk between them holding their hands for the rest of my life. But alas, selfishness broke in, and divorce, vice and pain severed the bonds that held us all together. I gave up hope of ever living with that sort of love and security for the rest of my life, my heart hardened, and I ceased to be as sensitive and open to others in the deepest recesses of my soul.

But God “puts the lonely in families”—and in my case He put me in my own loving home. Everyday we are becoming that “miracle”, the testimony of His faithfulness, of the truth of His Word and His eternal promises! The Lord has made all things new!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

"It doesn't matter what you have or where you go--all that matters is who you have beside you--JESUS!"