Before I tackle the second loving message God gave through the sudden death of our new dog, I need to brag on a book a bit.
My copy arrived and while the kids played outside, I sat down and quickly read 2/3 of the book. I definitely plan to really drink it all in but I can not tell you how special this book is. For one, two of my works are included and that just blows my mind. Two, our very own Maria "private faith outed by 60 Minutes" Spencer has her story in this book too. Third, a friend from Upstate NY that I absolutely treasure, Holly Hrywnak
has her story in this book as well. She's just twenty-three but the anointing on this girl is powerful.
I don't know all the authors, but many are familiar names. Can I tell you something? The stories that I just scanned, rocked me with the degree of vulnerability shared. The writers share their hearts and souls with the reader, all with hope and encouragement woven throughout.
It's a great summer read, gift to give away, gift to treat yourself, just please, consider taking a look at http://www.xulonpress.com/book_detail.php?id=5815 and see for yourself.
Okay, to continue with what I started Tuesday , here is the second message God shared when our dog passed away in recovery from surgery.
It's simple and deep all at once, if it's possible.
We are a family that is 1 in 2500.
That's the statistic of how often what happened with our dog would occur. It's not a common event, thank God. As the Holy Spirit shared that truth with me, He reminded me of other stats that set us apart from others. Not that we are better by any means, but we are "blessed" with odd stats.
One thing He reminded me of was when I had a planned c section for our daughter. The chances of having a spinal reaction to the surgery were something like 1 in 500 or 1 in 1000. I forget, but point being, it's not every woman who has that happen. I did. I was in such a state of migraines and vomiting I had to return for an outpatient procedure.
Our daughter then became ill with croup, RSV, pneumonia, and with the croup, nearly lost her life with the complication of wrong medicine. Before that happened, the office person at the time never called us with a positive congenital hypothyroidism diagnosis that required immediate medication. When I called out of concern, she read the lab report on her own and declared her well. She was not trained to do that (or authorized) and she read the adult levels. We missed critical weeks of medication. Again, not an everyday thing.
When I was in college, I was producer of a news program for the radio station. There was a sit in of some sort and both the radio and TV crews covered the event. The same professor oversaw both forms of media. She wanted to see the footage and hear what we had. I asked if she could wait as we were still working and I didn't want to get footage mixed up or, worst case scenario, erased.
She agreed. However behind my back, she did it anyway. In trying to listen to the radio coverage, she erased it. In a panic, she took the TV coverage and tried to duplicate it as the audio. A student came to me to let me know, and when I confronted the teacher, she lied at first. Then she asked if she could buy me a pizza to keep me quiet. I didn't even know Christ in a personal way back then but I remember feeling this was an incident to prepare me somehow. That professor ended up not getting tenure because of her deception. It wasn't a fun time.
Those are just a few quick examples. Yet when I realized our family was chosen as the 1/2500 for this loss, it's always for a greater purpose. I met with a dear friend a few weeks ago and the similarities between us and our personalities and circumstances were amazing. If you are like us, you might relate to the following statements:
-"I feel so misunderstood."
-"Someone told me I'm a visionary."
-"I seem to have all the hard stuff in life when others have it so easy."
-"I feel light years ahead of everyone else."
-"Even my pastor isn't sure what to do with me because I'm so frustrated with the church."
I am learning that by going through those rare statistics, they are refining qualities to prepare me for something. Something big for Him, that I know. Those above statements I've not only heard from others, I've lived them, and still do.
I don't live a popular life with tons of phone calls and social engagements. I grew up as an "old soul" who often could sense and see things, and I get so frustrated when I can see in my mind an end picture to situations and real time is just not there. Don't misunderstand, it's not new age or psychic, these are enemy counterfeits. I don't even call it visionary. I call it a forerunner calling.
My guess is the forerunner is 1/2500. It's not everyone, and it's a lonely life. After all, John the Baptist was a forerunner and he was misunderstood by the majority. And his end wasn't very glamourous. He was beheaded.
The good news about being set apart with odd stats and circumstances, I can relate to the Esthers and Deborah's of the world. I keep my ear close to the Lord and listen for His voice, and I don't panic as much with worldly things. The bigger picture, the perspective from the throne is awesome.
But to see that way, you have to go through some experiences that set you apart.
Because in God's stats, you are a rare find.
You are one in a million.
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Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09.Starting summer 2008, Julie will be a monthly columnist on surrender over at http://www.takerootandwrite.com/.To get to know her better, read her interview by Lynda Schab at:http://www.faithreaders.com/featured-author-details.php?id=33%20
To contact Julie, please use the e mail provided in our profile.
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