Christmas

How many times have you heard already, “I can’t believe Christmas is almost here?” But I have to say, I really can’t believe Christmas is almost here. Just last week Pink Impact hosted our annual Christmas Blessing. What a great night!! My mother-in-law, Jan, joined us for “Seasons to Remember.” For those of you who don’t know or couldn’t attend last week, Jan has a dramatic testimony of salvation, deliverance and emotional healing.

Raised in Indonesia as a buddhist, Jan had never even heard of Christmas until her early 20’s. Throughout the night, she shared trials from her life that would lead her closer and closer to the One who would fill her longing to know who the one true God was.

When you first hear of Jan’s conversion, from being raised as a buddhist to being saved at a Billy Graham crusade, you are overwhelmed by the grace of God and the lengths at which He is willing to reach to see each one of us as His child. When you hear of miraculous transformations like Jan’s you realize that this is a powerful testimony, but you wonder how “how does this relate to me?” in a country where you hear the name “Jesus” everyday (not always as it’s intended to be used) and there’s a church on every corner.

How does this relate to me? As Jan took us through each chapter of her story we found ourselves in one or more of the pages of her life. She shared openly of her trials and her triumphs.

That night we discovered that, in her 80 years on this earth, Jan has lived in a pagan country, worshipped a pagan god, married young, moved unexpectedly to another country, a week after her wedding (never to see her parents again). While in Holland, she lived with the stress of raising three young children while her husband was gone six days of each week. Jan openly admits their marriage as being rocky and tumultuous most of the time. Realizing Jan’s desperation an “old man” down the street (that’s how she always refers to him) began to serve and evangelize the family by bringing them meat rations and inviting her to church. Eventually, she would go to a Billy Graham crusade with him and give her life to Jesus. So now, she is living with not just an unsaved husband, but a man who refuses to have anything to do with God. Another child comes and after several years, through the testimony of a changed life, her husband gives his life to the Lord at a bible study Jan held in her home. They have another child. Their lives are changed, but they still have their struggles depending on God to see them through. She gives birth to a son but loses him right after he is born. She agonizes and cries out to God for another son. God honors her cry with Samuel (yeah!) :)

Now they move to yet another country and new culture, America. They have one more child and after eleven years living in what Jan refers to as “freedom” her husband is tragically killed in an auto accident. Now she is left as a young widow, single mother of seven children, no income and her faith challenged. How did she get through it all? “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

(I Thess. 5:16-18) Praise God not for the trials, but in the trials. That’s Jan’s answer for what to do when you don’t know what to do.

Did you see yourself in that summation? I know I did. Our faith gets rocked by so many circumstances. I think Jan’s was rocked more than anyone should be allowed to bear. But to hear her testify, you know there is a God…a God who sees you through every trial, every storm, every triumph and every success. How often have you heard people tell you “just praise God,” but they don’t have a clue what you’re going through? But when you hear someone who has been through the fire, and they still have the smell of smoke on their clothes tell you to praise God, you can bet they’ve been there and come out the other side!!

I’m glad to know Jan and happy to have her as my mother-in-law. It’s wonderful to know that in times when I wonder if He hears me, wonder if He’ll see me through something or wonder if it’s all worth it, I reflect on Jan’s life. That’s what testimonies are for. To lift us up and show us that the promises He makes are true and He never changes. What He did for Jan, He’ll do for me…and you!!

Now you know I have to have a least one funny line. I just pray that one day, the people that I serve and evangelize don’t refer to me as “the old woman from Grand Rapids First!”

Have a Merry Christmas and remember to praise God for His Son…the reason we do what we do!!

CyaJ

Brenda

For a DVD of Jan’s testimony from the Christmas Blessing, click here.