A Prayer, a Phone Call and Lots of Books!

As I read back through my mother's stories, I'm reminded again and again of how God took care of her in the midst of so many trials and setbacks. I learned the power of prayer from watching her. She would pray about everything, and as a child, I must have learned more from her than I realized.

It seemed God often heard her prayers and met the desires of her heart in simple, yet profound ways. Even when she didn't feel very pretty after the bad car accident and was still mourning the death of her young husband, God was taking care of her and met an unspoken desire of her heart to be around books. (I remember her telling me once that books were rare when she was growing up and she longed to have access to them.)

Finding a job for a young widow back in the 1940's would not have been an easy thing, but you'll see how God was already working on her behalf through prayer. A phone call not only opened up a job opportunity for her, but to her delight, it also gave her access to all kinds of books!

One of my favorite pictures of my mother, Bertha.

More from Bertha's life–

"From that day on, I've had that peace and joy and contentment that I wanted so badly but didn't know how to get. I had surrendered my all, my everything to the Lord. I remember saying to God after that—"I want to glorify you, but I don't know how to do it. If you can use me to glorify you, don't let me know that you're doing it, lest I become proud."

Even now, when I go through something difficult, I say, "Lord, back there in 1947 when I told you to glorify yourself, that still holds, if you can use anything about me."

I have the deep settled peace in my heart that God is still directing my steps. If I didn't have that, I don't know how I would have gotten through the difficult times.

A few weeks later, I had a phone call from Avery Heisey, from the Christian Light Press, (now Lifeway Christian Store in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) offering me a job to come and work in his bookstore in Chambersburg (located downtown at that time).

My response was "Do you know how I look?! My jaw is crooked; my face is swollen; I'm not fit to work in public."

He said, "I know, but it's okay."

He wanted me to come and work there anyway. I was very grateful for a job where I was surrounded by so many wonderful people, good books to read, and music."

Back to Frances—

Yes—God even cares about the smallest, hidden desires, like access to books!

What is the desire of your heart today? Have you told Him lately?

"Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8

Here's a song I wrote with Darwin Moody years ago based on the very principle that God sees everything about us; the things we want to hide about ourselves and the dreams we have. All we need to do is give Him permission to look into the deep places of our hearts. He loves to free us from the ugly stuff we might feel about ourselves (like a mis-shaped face from a broken jaw) as well as delight us with giving us the desires of our hearts.

Listen to the song, "Nobody Sees" HERE.

Nobody Sees? Think Again!

You have dreams in your heart. 

Ideas in your mind. 

When no one is looking, you imagine the way things could be if you were given the chance.

You think nobody sees.  

The truth is, Someone knows AND sees.

He created you. He knows how you were formed, before you were even born.

I was driving to Ohio years ago to visit a couple of radio stations playing a current single we had just released. I drove for six hours without listening to anything. I so desperately needed to hear from God about my music career. Things were shifting and I needed some advice. Perhaps if I just listened He would speak.

"You are trying to put on Saul's armor".  That's all the still small voice said.

I went home from that trip and started to study the life of King David from I Samuel in the Bible since that's the story from which the phrase originated. I'm still gathering wisdom from it and writing music as a result of my studies, and still searching for how that story applies to my own life.

As I was studying one day, I read the part of the story where the prophet Samuel was choosing who the next king would be from a family of boys.  When none of them met God's approval, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons.  As if David was an afterthought, Jesse replied, "yes - there is David, but he's out tending the sheep".

"Go get him!" was Samuel's reply.  David's day had come. As soon as David appeared, Samuel knew he was the one.

But how many years had David spent minding his own business out in the fields? Protecting the lambs from lions and bears. Developing his musical skills, his courage, his prayer life.

Finally, somebody saw.

Hang in there.  Somebody sees you too.

What to do while you wait:

1.) Focus on what you have in your hand right now. Your current job and your abilities, no matter how small.
2.) Pray daily that the Kingdom of God will come into your life and prepare you for what He has in store for you.
3.) Be faithful with every opportunity you are given, even if it's not what you imagine it should be.
4.) Seek Him in the quiet place.  Frequently. Wait on Him. Keep focused on Him and nothing else.
5.) Commit your way to Him and open your hands before Him representing a posture of surrender.