Quote:
Originally Posted by jediwill83
That had to be frustrating as heck.
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I have almost always shunned confrontation, taking a "lamb led to the slaughter" approach to most situations. There was great frustration and disappointment, with some anger in me. My wife was furious, and really hurt.
It took some time and patience to allow God to work out of us what He needed to, to help us mend and keep going forward without a bitter edge left in us.
So much came out after we were gone, that helped us realize we weren't the knuckleheads causing the problems. The story itself could go on for another dozen pages of posts to tell it all, but that is superfluous.
So, despite what happened, the reality is this:
In our third or fourth meeting with the new group, my mom and step-dad came to visit.
There was a diverse tongue. God gave me the interpretation. It was about "little strength" from the verse in
Revelation 3 regarding the church in Philadelphia.
My mom started weeping. I didn't know what had really gone on with her and my stepdad over the years, since they had left the same church years before we did, but she spoke about feeling like she was just barely hanging on because there had been so much hurt suffered on their part by abusive leadership, not just in the church mentioned above, but in their next and next.
So, my mom and stepdad have finally found, after many years, a place they can unequivocally call home, and are standing stronger and in more confidence in the Lord than ever.
In that same meeting, a prophetic fellow shared how he had been given a vision of a tornado tearing through, that at first looked like it was sent to destroy, but rather, instead caused a path to be created in its wake for people to follow, so the Lord could lead His people out of the places He no longer desired them to be.
The fruit that God is giving is not what might be normally expected, but it's much sweeter and of a greater, lasting quality.