The Purse
The Purse
Yesterday a friend told me this wonderful tale she calls her “purse story.” I was immediately intrigued by the title, what kind of interesting story can you tell about a purse? True it is an object most women cannot function without, and at a total loss if the purse is missing or worse stolen. A woman’s whole life is carried in her purse.
This was during a hard time in her life; she was divorced and raising two young daughters. Money was tight, and life was hard. To relax she would go to a church retreat in New Mexico. She describes it as a great place to go, take different classes on many aspects of a Christian’s life. They also had activities for her daughters, while she attended classes.
While she had some free time in between classes, she decided to sit in on a class about praying. The speaker spoke of how to pray, and the importance of praying for yourself, as much as you pray for others. Pray in times of crises, and in good times. For if you only pray in times of crises, and forget to talk to God during good times, crises will increase to ensure you talk to God. Now this does not mean you will never go through crises again, however you will have a better handle on the situation. He also suggested that as your list of people to pray for grows; designate particular days for groups of people. For example, on Sundays pray for family, Tuesdays, pray for friends, Wednesdays for your church, etc.
Well this class really affected her, so for two months she seriously prayed every night for herself and for others. Then one day in her prayers she asked God if praying for others was really helping? Was she really making a difference in anyone’s life? Some time after that she and her two girls was driving down a major street when she noticed a woman’s purse was sitting upright in the road. So she pulled over, got out of her car, dodged traffic to retrieve the lost item. She knew there was a woman somewhere in a total panic.
When she got back into her car she looked into the purse and pulled out the wallet so she could find contact information of the owner. As she looked in, she saw two hundred dollars, which at the time she could have really used the money. She fought the temptation, and contacted the woman once she returned home.
The woman was so grateful, that my friend had found her purse. She explained that she had placed her it on top of her car while she puting her son into his carseat. She then drove off, leaving her purse to fall off the car. She said that her husband will come by after work to retreive the purse.
After a few hours the woman’s husband stopped by my friend's house. He was very grateful that my friend had found his wife’s purse, he handed my friend fifty dollars. For some reason, that at the time she could not understand, she handed the money back to the him. She him he could pay her back by taking his family to church. After the man left she shook her head, she couldn’t believe what she had told him. She must have sounded like one of those crazy, bible beating church goers.
A few hours later the woman who lost her purse, called my friend crying. She thanked her for telling her husband to take his family to church. She went onto explain that a few years ago they had adopted their son. In the adoption agreement, they had both agreed to take their new son to church so he would grow up in a Christian home. She took her son to church every week. Her husband refused to go to church with them, even though he had agreed to take the son to church. When her husband came home, he told his wife that he believed God gave him a sign telling him he needed to start going to church with his family. So he promised that he would go with them from now on.
After my friend hung up with the lady, she realized that her praying for others did have an impact. Her prayers started things in motion for God’s work and plan to take action. So the morale of this story is we may not visibly see the affect our prayers have on others, but they do make a difference. For our actions and prayers play a viable role in God’s plan.
Just Pray.
Yesterday a friend told me this wonderful tale she calls her “purse story.” I was immediately intrigued by the title, what kind of interesting story can you tell about a purse? True it is an object most women cannot function without, and at a total loss if the purse is missing or worse stolen. A woman’s whole life is carried in her purse.
This was during a hard time in her life; she was divorced and raising two young daughters. Money was tight, and life was hard. To relax she would go to a church retreat in New Mexico. She describes it as a great place to go, take different classes on many aspects of a Christian’s life. They also had activities for her daughters, while she attended classes.
While she had some free time in between classes, she decided to sit in on a class about praying. The speaker spoke of how to pray, and the importance of praying for yourself, as much as you pray for others. Pray in times of crises, and in good times. For if you only pray in times of crises, and forget to talk to God during good times, crises will increase to ensure you talk to God. Now this does not mean you will never go through crises again, however you will have a better handle on the situation. He also suggested that as your list of people to pray for grows; designate particular days for groups of people. For example, on Sundays pray for family, Tuesdays, pray for friends, Wednesdays for your church, etc.
Well this class really affected her, so for two months she seriously prayed every night for herself and for others. Then one day in her prayers she asked God if praying for others was really helping? Was she really making a difference in anyone’s life? Some time after that she and her two girls was driving down a major street when she noticed a woman’s purse was sitting upright in the road. So she pulled over, got out of her car, dodged traffic to retrieve the lost item. She knew there was a woman somewhere in a total panic.
When she got back into her car she looked into the purse and pulled out the wallet so she could find contact information of the owner. As she looked in, she saw two hundred dollars, which at the time she could have really used the money. She fought the temptation, and contacted the woman once she returned home.
The woman was so grateful, that my friend had found her purse. She explained that she had placed her it on top of her car while she puting her son into his carseat. She then drove off, leaving her purse to fall off the car. She said that her husband will come by after work to retreive the purse.
After a few hours the woman’s husband stopped by my friend's house. He was very grateful that my friend had found his wife’s purse, he handed my friend fifty dollars. For some reason, that at the time she could not understand, she handed the money back to the him. She him he could pay her back by taking his family to church. After the man left she shook her head, she couldn’t believe what she had told him. She must have sounded like one of those crazy, bible beating church goers.
A few hours later the woman who lost her purse, called my friend crying. She thanked her for telling her husband to take his family to church. She went onto explain that a few years ago they had adopted their son. In the adoption agreement, they had both agreed to take their new son to church so he would grow up in a Christian home. She took her son to church every week. Her husband refused to go to church with them, even though he had agreed to take the son to church. When her husband came home, he told his wife that he believed God gave him a sign telling him he needed to start going to church with his family. So he promised that he would go with them from now on.
After my friend hung up with the lady, she realized that her praying for others did have an impact. Her prayers started things in motion for God’s work and plan to take action. So the morale of this story is we may not visibly see the affect our prayers have on others, but they do make a difference. For our actions and prayers play a viable role in God’s plan.
Just Pray.
posted by Karen @ 6:29 PM
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