It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. I've kind of been busy and haven't had much exciting news to talk about. Don't worry, I still don't! :) However, I heard a story a few weeks ago and I have been wanting to write about it before I forget about it. Hearing this story definitely came at a perfect time for me, maybe it will help someone else!
Anyway, a girl shared a story of a woman that spoke in a devotional a while ago. This woman was speaking about quiting the cycle of abuse in the home. She said that she had been abused by both her mother (physically/emotionally) and father (sexually) since she was 3 years old until the time she moved out. She shared this with the audience with a smile on her face. When they asked her how she could share this information with a smile, she told her amazing story.
She said when she was 3 years old she had the most vivid dream, which she still remembers to this day. In her dream she was sitting on Christ's lap, and Christ told her that some bad things were going to happen to her, but to always remember that He loved her no matter what and would always be with her. He told her to always remember that. Even at her young age, she was struck by this dream and told her older sister, who was 6 years old at the time (they were a family of 10 kids, these two young girls being the only females). Her 6-year-old sister, knowing what was in store for her (since her experince had already begun), to try and remember that dream always. Her sister then told her that when she had bad things happen to herself, she would think of a scripture in Joshua (sorry I can't remember the exact scripture, I waited too long to post this!) that says something along the lines of God is always with you and loves you. Her sister then encouraged her to always think of her dream and that scripture in Joshua every time something bad happened to her.
Now fast forward to when this woman moved out. She got married and had kids of her own. One day she walked into Deseret Book to hurry and grab something, but as she stepped in the room she looked to the wall and saw a painting by Greg Olsen. The picture was of Christ with a little girl sitting on His lap (around the age of 3). To make this painting even better- wait for it....wait for it....the scripture underneath the painting was the exact one from JOSHUA her sister shared with her years ago!!! She immediately burst into tears to the point where it alarmed the employee working there at the time. When they asked if she was ok she said, "That's me!" She said every detail about that picture, including her face, was exactly how her dream had been.
She was so touched by the picture that she contacted Greg Olsen about his painting. He then shared with her his experience while painting this picture. He said, "When I paint, I take pictures of people posing for me and then paint them that way, in this painting I had used a picture of my daughter. I worked from the feet up and then worked on the face last. I painted her face but felt that something was wrong with it, so I scratched it off and tried again. The second time still didn't seem right so I prayed, asking for my hand to be guided in painting the face. I then painted the face the third time with guidance and it finally felt right, but it was not my daughter's face."
Since exchanging their experiences, they have done devotionals together sharing their story. Isn't that amazing though? I heard this story at a good time and really needed that reminder. Even though I may feel like I have slipped through the cracks and that my prayers go unheard, it is comforting to know that God is mindful of His children and finds ways to answer prayers in His own way. Maybe I'm really impatient and He is still trying to get me to learn the whole "patience" concept.... I can't say that I'm a fan of this whole "learning and growing" process :)
Sorry to get so serious on ya, but it's gotta happen sometimes!
Anyway, a girl shared a story of a woman that spoke in a devotional a while ago. This woman was speaking about quiting the cycle of abuse in the home. She said that she had been abused by both her mother (physically/emotionally) and father (sexually) since she was 3 years old until the time she moved out. She shared this with the audience with a smile on her face. When they asked her how she could share this information with a smile, she told her amazing story.
She said when she was 3 years old she had the most vivid dream, which she still remembers to this day. In her dream she was sitting on Christ's lap, and Christ told her that some bad things were going to happen to her, but to always remember that He loved her no matter what and would always be with her. He told her to always remember that. Even at her young age, she was struck by this dream and told her older sister, who was 6 years old at the time (they were a family of 10 kids, these two young girls being the only females). Her 6-year-old sister, knowing what was in store for her (since her experince had already begun), to try and remember that dream always. Her sister then told her that when she had bad things happen to herself, she would think of a scripture in Joshua (sorry I can't remember the exact scripture, I waited too long to post this!) that says something along the lines of God is always with you and loves you. Her sister then encouraged her to always think of her dream and that scripture in Joshua every time something bad happened to her.
Now fast forward to when this woman moved out. She got married and had kids of her own. One day she walked into Deseret Book to hurry and grab something, but as she stepped in the room she looked to the wall and saw a painting by Greg Olsen. The picture was of Christ with a little girl sitting on His lap (around the age of 3). To make this painting even better- wait for it....wait for it....the scripture underneath the painting was the exact one from JOSHUA her sister shared with her years ago!!! She immediately burst into tears to the point where it alarmed the employee working there at the time. When they asked if she was ok she said, "That's me!" She said every detail about that picture, including her face, was exactly how her dream had been.
She was so touched by the picture that she contacted Greg Olsen about his painting. He then shared with her his experience while painting this picture. He said, "When I paint, I take pictures of people posing for me and then paint them that way, in this painting I had used a picture of my daughter. I worked from the feet up and then worked on the face last. I painted her face but felt that something was wrong with it, so I scratched it off and tried again. The second time still didn't seem right so I prayed, asking for my hand to be guided in painting the face. I then painted the face the third time with guidance and it finally felt right, but it was not my daughter's face."
Since exchanging their experiences, they have done devotionals together sharing their story. Isn't that amazing though? I heard this story at a good time and really needed that reminder. Even though I may feel like I have slipped through the cracks and that my prayers go unheard, it is comforting to know that God is mindful of His children and finds ways to answer prayers in His own way. Maybe I'm really impatient and He is still trying to get me to learn the whole "patience" concept.... I can't say that I'm a fan of this whole "learning and growing" process :)
Sorry to get so serious on ya, but it's gotta happen sometimes!
(I'm not even sure if this is the picture, but it's the one that came to my mind while hearing this story, either way it's a good picture!)
That was an awesome story! Thank you for sharing Heidi!
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