Recently I was reminded, when our hearts are opened with simple childlike faith, anything is possible! It's been nearly two weeks ago now that our area was hit with severe thunderstorms and strong winds. Tornado warnings flashed on the television while the sound of sirens penetrated my neighborhood. Although Texas is no stranger to such weather conditions, it was one of the worst storms I have ever experienced. When I opened my front door to see how bad it looked, the trees in my front yard were bent over by the force of the tumultuous winds. You could actually see the blustery weather pushing the rain, the sky appeared to be a brownish green, and it was indeed a scary sight. I immediately rushed to the phone to call my daughter and make certain she was in her home and not on the road. When Chelsi answered the phone, I could hear my little Aubrey, she crying in the background. Not only was she frightened from all the thunder and lightning, but our little 5 year old baby girl was crying about "Haiti". At first, her mother couldn't make out what she was saying: all she could understand were the words: "What about Haiti?" As it turned out, Aubrey's distress was for a little girl who lived in a poor village in Haiti who hadn't a roof over her head. The child happens to be one of the mission kids that Aubrey's school supports. It was difficult for Aubrey to comprehend that the storms we were experiencing in Dallas, Texas were not affecting her friend in Haiti. While her mommy tried to explain that her friend was not in any danger, Aubrey continued to cry. By this time, my daughter asked if she could give me a call back after she calmed Aubrey down a little. As I let Chelsi go, I encouraged her to pick up Aubrey and pray with her.
After about twenty minutes of very heavy rains, the noise and chaos that had been surrounding us abruptly came to peaceful calm. The skies had cleared and the worst of the storm had passed over us. Within minutes, the phone rang. As expected, it was my daughter Chelsi. With her voice shaking, she began to tell me about her little girl's incredible prayer. She tearfully said: "Oh mom, Aubrey's prayer was simple, innocent and full of faith. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she pleaded with the Lord to protect her friend in Haiti and make the storms go away." Aubrey's brokenness and fervency had moved her mommy to tears. With the storms gone now, Chelsi walked Aubrey outside to ease her mind. She informed Aubrey that her prayer had been answered. Aubrey shouted with excitement, "He heard me mommy! He's really real, He's really real! I can't wait to tell all my friends at school tomorrow that Jesus is real!" All fear and anxiety was gone, she leaped in the yard with her heart full of praise. Without her even knowing, Aubrey's faith had instantly risen to another level. Until now, prayer had been an act of faith without any substantial results that she could really grasp. Nonetheless, faith as she knew it would never be the same. It is as if she has graduated to another level!
Perhaps you find yourself in a place where faith seems beyond your grasp. Life has bombarded you so that you do not know how to even begin to reignite the flame of faith again. I assure you it will not take much. Just like the simple faith of a child who trusted in a God who could calm the storm, all you need to do is believe a little, open your heart, and trust that He is really real. I did it! I found that sometimes stretching ourselves can create an atmosphere of faith. For me, sharing my voice on the Ladies by Design website required me to believe. I had to trust God and take a step in faith. I began with a simple bio, believe me that was rough. But, I let my faith arise, so the next step was to believe that I could scale walls. As I began to believe in my own voice again, I had to confront walls of insecurity, because of my past, walls of fear, afraid that what I had to share would never impact lives or help other women live as ladies by design. However, the truth of the matter is that I was never alone; God was with me all along. I realized that He created each one of us with a voice that could change lives, including me. My faith has risen to such a level that I can proclaim with confidence, I have a purpose. We were fearfully and wonderfully made, designed for greatness. Are you ready to see the storm clouds move out of your situation? Are you ready to go to another level? Are you ready to let your faith arise? I dare you, take a leap of faith, or a simple step, either way, there are gifts that have been placed inside of you by the One who designed you with love.
