Today marks 39 years of the death of my father. Above is a picture from when I was young with my family and the 2nd picture of my brothers and I while my dad was in the hospital struggling to live after a stroke.
I was determined that God would hear my prayers, as He always had and my dad would not die. God sent a man to me in the hospital. He asked my mother if she had a daughter because he had a message for her. While I was in the hospital chapel praying, I opened the Bible and a scripture popped off the page saying something about a man being sent with a message. I don’t remember the scripture, I only remember what I felt when at that moment my mother was standing at the door telling me a man was there to see me.
The man told me my father wanted to go on, but I was holding him here by my prayers. He asked me to release him. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, because I was believing God for greater relationship with my dad.
Sometimes, people are limited in their ability to go forward in life and they choose to leave the earth. I cried for a long time because I understood, back then, he would never be there for the important times in my life and what I had ask God to do in his life would never come to pass. I honored my father’s wishes & released him, within a few minutes, he passed. It took a long time to trust the Lord again. I thought God was limited in His ability to answer prayer. For 2 years I stepped back from praying and believing. Eventually, I purposed in my heart to believe again. It was a choice because I knew the truth deep down in my heart. I had to trust God had a plan, higher than my understanding and that it was not only my will involved.
My dad would never have approved of me preaching the gospel. He didn’t think well of preachers. But one early morning, several years later, about 4am, my dad came into my bedroom and woke me up.
I had put up my first tent, of which was not mine. A horrific storm was brewing that morning of which I had no idea. My father said, “Get up, you have to go to the tent, a great storm is on its way!” I couldn’t believe he was there!!! I started crying telling him how much I missed him. But he was insisting I didn’t have much time. As tears stream down my cheeks, I made phone calls to everyone I could to help me. I couldn’t stop crying on the way or while we fought the tremendous winds that early morning. The wind was so strong and it was still dark. There were about 20 of us as we all held a pole while the winds whipped the canopy of the tent like it was made of paper. It rained, we were worn out and drenched!! But the tent was saved and my dad was a part of the miracle that early morning!!
WHAT MY DAD COULDN’T DO ON EARTH, HE DID ON THE OTHER SIDE!! He was helping me in my mission to preach the gospel ! I know he sees me, and your loved ones see you too! They are praying for us! God shows me sometimes relatives of individuals as I’m ministering to them. I see them standing beside them and God let’s me hear their prayers for them. They are still with us, ONLY NOW THEY ARE FREE and THEY UNDERSTAND because they KNOW THE TRUTH.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us,
There are more for us than against us as we continue to fight a good fight of faith! Miss you, Dad!!!😘