Melody of a Heart
I was at my women’s Bible study where we were discussing our
next Beth Moore bible study “Breaking Free”.
Some of the women in the group were doing this study for the 2nd
time and were giving their testimony as to what God revealed to them and how
their lives had been changed. As I was
listening to these stories, my mother-in-law who has been battling cancer, came
to my mind. She lived with us for 14
months until she was able to be on her own once again. Since leaving our home, depression and
loneliness, had set in coupled with her still shaky faith. I felt God telling me to go and buy her a
study book and invite her to our Bible Study.
Knowing her and how she avoids socializing, I just didn’t see why God
wanted me to do this.
As I left our Bible study, I told our leader at the door
that I was going to go and pick one up for my mother-in-law and invite her to Bible
study. As I got in the car driving to
the store, I kept asking God, “Really, God!
Is this really going to strike a chord with her?” So I ran into the Christian bookstore and
grabbed the book. The young lady at the
counter rang me up and there was one candle holder at the end of the check-out
counter and nothing else. She picked it
up and said, “My manager said this is free to whoever wants it. Would you like
it?” I didn’t even look at but said
“yes, thank you” because I was thinking of my husband’s comment in our last
snow storm about how we don’t have many candles anymore. So I get into the car and decide to look in
the bag at the candle and candle holder. (See picture above)
It said, “Whenever one strikes
the chord of another’s heart, the resulting melody lasts a lifetime”. Tears fled my eyes remembering how I had just
asked God if this was going to strike a chord and there in my bag was the
answer! I realized how God wanted to use
this study to help my mother-in-law!
Ephesians
5:17 “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but
understand what the Lord wants you to do...5:19 “. . . be filled of the Holy
Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and
making music to the Lord in your hearts.”
I had to understand what God
wanted me to do to realize how it is that you make music to the Lord in your
hearts. The spiritual song God wanted me to share with her was this Bible
Study! To share with her how women have been released from captivity reading
this, studying scripture and through fervent prayer.
How beautiful it was also, that God used a candle to speak
this to me. How he was showing me that
He wants her to see the light and no matter how weary I’m growing in trying to
help my mother-in-law with her faith that I should not give up! He is the light and in John 8:12 Jesus
proclaims. “. ..I am the light
of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you
will have the light that leads to life.”
We are in Week 3 of our Bible Study and although she hasn’t
come to the Bible Study, she has done some of the homework in her book at a
slower pace. I imagine God listening to
her heart hearing her practice a few notes each day just in sweet anticipation
of the day those notes come together in a beautiful melody for Him!
*Now just a couple of years after I wrote this, in August of
2011 my mother-in-law was saved and baptized.
I want everyone to know that it wasn’t the study guide that I gave her
that got her to commit to Christ. She
doesn’t trace it all back to the day I brought her that study guide as the day
God started working on her heart. It
goes back further. All along the way we
planted the seeds God asked us to plant.
It didn’t just start when she came home with us from the hospital
either. It was even before then. God had us planting seeds for years before we
could see anything take root and grow in her.
So my advice to anyone who has someone like her in your life, keep
planting even if it is not the right season for the person, keep planting
because you never know when the seeds will grow!
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