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God Didn't Give Up: Ed's Faith Journey- Part 2
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God Didn't Give Up: Ed's Faith Journey- Part 2

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Hi friends!  On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we finish the last part of Ed’s faith journey.  For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted below.  I enjoyed the revelation experience that Ed shared.  Even more so, I love that Ed realizes that no matter our age there is still work to be done on this side of eternity.  As a result, God continues to use him.  Ed, thank you so much for sharing part of your story.  Since this is a man’s testimony, my husband, Jeff, will be the voice for Ed’s story.  If you enjoy this post, please share it with others using the share button below and consider doing a free or paid subscription.  With that, let’s dive into the final part of Ed’s story. Enjoy!

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A few months after I became Christian, I had what I refer to as my revelation experience.  As I recall, it was a typical day at home when it happened.  There was nothing out of the ordinary that triggered it, but I knew without a doubt that I was not dreaming when it occurred.  For example, right now as I am sharing this, I know I am not dreaming.  That same clarity was true for this event. 

In a moment, I was suddenly placed in God’s presence.  I used to say I was transported up to heaven, but I don’t know exactly where I was.  Regardless, I was sitting in God’s lap.  Although I was not hovering, when I was there I was about a foot above His lap.  It was like I was resting on a cushion of air.  It was hard to fully describe.

During that experience, God said, “I’m going to show you something, but I’m not going to let you remember it.”  Something happened and before I forgot what it was, I said, “Please let me remember this!” but God said “No.”  I said, “Please, please!”   Then we both started laughing.  It was like a moment between a loving father and a loving son.  There was a lot of warmth there, and then He said again, “I’m not going to let you remember it.” So, to this day I know I was shown something that was likely wonderful, but I have no idea what it was.  

The whole encounter lasted less than 5 minutes, but God knew that I needed it.  As I alluded to, I called it my revelation experience because that was where God revealed Himself to me.  Even though I was not allowed to remember everything I witnessed there, something that I do recall clearly was the great power of His love.  When I felt God’s love there, it was so strong that I thought about how it would kill our earthly bodies.  It’s a strange thing to say, but that was how intense it was.  I felt deep gratitude that I was able to experience God in such a way. 

I think God knew that my faith was not as strong as it should be.  None of us have faith as strong as it should be, but in particular mine was not at the time.  Although I believed in Him, early on I still had to fight against the fact that faith was not part of an engineer’s education. 

When God gave me that experience, it solidified my faith.  It was so uplifting. He knew I needed it to keep my faith strong.   Maybe I didn’t need it at that moment, but maybe I needed it a week later or a month later.  God has more foresight and knows more about the future than we give Him credit for.  There’s no doubt in my mind that He knew it was necessary for me to experience Him in that way, and by His grace, He gave me that even if it was not something I deserved. 

Even though I did not come to Christ until I was 64 years old, God still used me.  Somewhere along the line, I’m guessing within the first few years of being a Christian, I had the honor and the privilege of leading my eldest sister, who was 12 years older than me, in a prayer to accept Christ.  It didn’t have to be me, it could have been someone else, but God blessed me by allowing me to be the one to do it. 

I still fondly remember that moment with my sister.  When I led her in the prayer, I said, “Okay, repeat after me.  Lord, I confess that I am a sinner.”  She stopped and said, “No, no, no.  I’m not a sinner!” I paused and explained that everyone, but Jesus, was a sinner.  I continued and said, “For example, have you ever been in traffic and someone cut you off?  Did you feel like giving them the middle finger? Maybe you didn’t, but you felt like it?”  She cleared her throat in agreement.  In that moment her defenses dropped, and she recognized that she was indeed a sinner.  With that, we were able to move on and complete the prayer for her to accept Christ.  In the end, myself and each of my siblings, a couple of us later in life, received Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  All 4 of us.  It was a great blessing.

Throughout the years, I have witnessed God work in many ways.  I had the opportunity to see God move in people’s hearts through simple acts of service.  I used to participate in Wheels for the World, a charitable organization started by Joni Eareckson Tada.  Part of her story was that when she was 17 years old, she had an accident.  One day, she dove into the water headfirst and hit her head.  The impact injured her spinal cord, and she became a quadriplegic. 

Joni wanted to commit suicide, but she couldn’t because she was paralyzed.  She couldn’t use her hands to swallow something she shouldn’t or use a knife to kill herself.  But God.  Eventually, she founded a charitable organization, called Joni and Friends (JAF) to minister to the disabled community.   She then began Wheels for the World to make wheelchairs and buildings accessible to the disabled.  I got involved with the organization as a wheelchair mechanic and later worked on building ramps.

I traveled to numerous countries to help Wheels for the World.  One of those countries was Cuba.  When I first arrived, there was another man, John, who also came from the U.S. to help.  The two of us went to the mayor’s office in Cuba to meet with the mayor about the project.  As we talked with the mayor he said, “You Americans are just a bunch of terrorists.  You call us a terrorist, but you are terrorists.”   After going on for a little bit and throwing out accusations, he paused and said, “What do you have to say about that?”  I was taken aback.  As I tried to figure out how to respond, John spoke up and simply said, “We’re a religious organization, not a political organization.” Surprisingly, all the guy said was, “Oh,” and he was satisfied. 

John and I headed out and began the task of constructing forms to build a wheelchair ramp at the library.  At the end of the day, the mayor called us back to his office and said, “You guys did a lot of work.  What can I do to help?” I told him that we needed a shovel and a wheelbarrow to mix some concrete in.  Now that we had the forms, pouring concrete was the next step.  He told us that he would take care of it.

The next morning, we arrived at the library and saw something even better than what we had requested.  Instead of a wheelbarrow, there was a big drum cement mixer!   It was such a great lesson.  Here was this communist guy that had his opinions about the world and wouldn’t have been convinced of anything; however, a simple action of us wanting to help people opened his eyes.

God has blessed me in so many ways.  I’m now 90 years old and don’t even walk with a cane!  I am honored by how God has used me and continues to do so.  I don’t deserve it but He’s such a loving God.  One of the ways I try to remain connected to Him is through daily prayer and gratitude.  In my quiet time with God, I have told Him that I’m ready to go. I already know that being in His presence is a lot greater than being here on earth.  However, I also acknowledge that if there is something He wants me to do here, either knowingly or unknowingly, I’m happy to remain here. 

Eternity is a long time.  Even though being with God is far greater, I want to honor Him, so I can hang around here patiently for a little bit longer.  In a way the clock isn’t ticking for me here.  I don’t feel that I’m missing out each day that I am delayed from being there because eternity is eternity.  I’ll have all eternity to enjoy His presence. 

While I am on Earth, I focus on the fact that even here I feel God’s presence.  To know that God is in our lives and that we have been forgiven of our sins, past, present, and future, is just awesome.  I think about how He will continue to use me while I am here.  For me, I will feel so blessed if somebody reads my story and it affects them in a positive way.  I wonder if God will use my story to witness to someone.  If He does, what an honor that will be.

I thank God that He doesn’t give up on people. He’s not that kind of God.  We don’t deserve eternity; I know I sure don’t deserve it. God had every right to give up on me a long time ago, but it means so much to me that only a perfect God could be that forgiving and that patient.  It is just proof to me that God is great and full of mercy and grace.  He is beyond anything we could ever imagine.

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