Lost and Found

Written by Vianne Satterfield

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

My husband wears a special ring that is considered a ‘family heirloom,’ as it was fashioned from several other family gold rings, and has an S-shaped trail of diamonds, which represents the first letter of our last name. The ring has monetary and sentimental value, as his dad wore the ring until his death a couple of years ago.

Several months ago, while driving home from visiting his mom and sister, my husband discovered the ring was gone from his hand. He had lost weight and the ring had been too loose. We stopped and searched under the seats, around the console and we looked everywhere we could think it might be hiding! We felt sickened by the loss of the ring, especially when we phoned his mom to alert her of the lost ring. She too searched throughout her home, driveway and yard. She even searched at the local gas station where Rick had filled up prior to our departure. We retraced our steps and phoned the other businesses where Rick had been that day. The ring was gone and we felt saddened by the its loss.

I prayed and asked God to illuminate its hiding place. We searched everywhere possible, but could not find it. We gave up on finding the ring. We assumed whoever found it would either keep or sell it, as the ring was unique and valuable.

I admit I had given up on finding the ring — even though I had prayed and asked the Lord to illuminate its hiding place. God remembered and He answered my prayer, several months later. While retrieving a Patsy Cline CD that had been rattling around underneath the back seat of the vehicle, Rick found his ring! Surprisingly, it was safely nestled underneath a newspaper clipping of a memoriam of his dad’s passing, next to an “Our Daily Bread” devotional booklet, a package of scrapers, and a paint brush. The ring was hidden under a picture of Rick’s dad! I am not making this up. The family heirloom ring was covered and protected by Rick’s heavenly father.

When Rick showed me what he had found, he looked as if he had seen a ghost! We were thrilled to have found his no-longer-lost ring. We immediately called his mom to share the good news! It was as if the angels were rejoicing with us! What was lost had been found!

This experience reminds me of God’s goodness. When it looks as if there is no way for an answer to prayer, keep believing and keep looking for the WayMaker, our God, to make a way. The answer to your prayer may surprise you. I think God delights in giving good gifts to His kids by showing us that nothing is too difficult for Him. God’s timing is not our timing and His ways of doing things are often mysterious and even playful. Do not give up hope on the lost things or lost people in your life. The lost will be found. Until then, trust the WayMaker and prepare to rejoice with the angels.

I would love to hear from you. Share a time when God showed Himself to be mysterious or playful in how He answered your prayer.

Got Jesus?

Written by Vianne Satterfield

I John 4:15-19 “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete amoung us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.”

A childhood friend, Kent, has been fighting stage four cancer for about a year, with an amazing attitude that clearly points to his reliance upon Jesus Christ as his savior, his healer, his redeemer, his peace and his reason for passionate living.

I reconnected with Kent about a decade ago thanks to social media. He was still the nerdy geeky guy I knew in elementary school, and he had become a pastor, husband, and father among other roles. We kept in contact via Facebook Messenger to share prayer requests about family members, and then when he was diagnosed with cancer he shared his own prayer need. Throughout his treatment process, Kent and his wife handled the “yuck” of cancer with such grace and peace. Each step of the way I observed that Kent was able to be at peace even as he fought the disease. His life reflected God’s love and especially the Scripture above. When Kent could no longer pastor his church, he wrote or voiced devotionals that he posted on social media or in his support group. No matter what he faced, Kent always pointed us to Jesus Christ, because having a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ is what got Kent and his family through each day. Kent lived his testimony of an ongoing, consistent love relationship with Jesus Christ, and his desire for us to love and follow Jesus as well.

Kent’s love for the Lord and for people is evident in how he lives — completely dependent upon God to take care of him. He readily described the reasons for his peace, grace and contentment — he knew and loved God wholeheartedly, and he shared that love with everyone. Kent lives for Christ. His life oozes the love, grace and peace that he experienced through a relationship with Jesus Christ. He has Jesus. Jesus is soon to have him in paradise, as Kent is nearing the end of his earthly life, yet it is only the beginning of eternal life that is promised to those who believe and accept God’s love and acceptance. I am confident I will see my friend again when it is my turn to cross over into heaven.

I thank Kent and Michele for showing us how love works, for reminding us to choose and follow Christ even through suffering and difficult places. Thank you Kent and Michele for your transparency, your testimony and your trust in the Lord that has been on display for us to imitate.

I pray for God’s comfort, peace and strength for us all as Kent completes his earthly journey. Love and blessings to Kent’s family, friends and all who love and care for Kent. To Kent: I will miss your words of encouragement, your humor and your friendship. Til we meet again. . . .

Trusting Your Gut, Responding with Faith

Written by Vianne Satterfield

James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Psalm 16:7-8 “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

I am incredibly thankful for the wisdom that God generously gives — especially as I charter unknown places. I ask the Lord for guidance and help along the way and He is faithful to give it. When I take the time to quiet myself before the Lord in prayer, He “shows up,” and points me to a Scripture or gives me a knowing about a situation or circumstance. He is a generous God and He gives instruction and guidance, yet I think He also wants us to not only ask Him for wisdom, but also to receive it and follow through with what He shows. As the Scripture says, we are to believe and not doubt.

There have been times that I receive a word from the Lord or that I discern something, yet I do not fully understand it. It is best to seek the Lord for more wisdom and discernment befor proceeding, as I believe He will give clarity and understanding eventually. Several months ago, I experienced a knowing that something just wasn’t right about a business relationship. I could not clearly identify what was not right but I knew something was “off.” That’s called discernment. I held onto that weird feeling of something “not being right,” however, I did what I thought was best, rather than responding to the discernment that I initially received.

I asked for wisdom and God gave me a knowing, a gut feeling, a dream and a Scripture. HELLO! God was kind of using a megaphone to get my attention and I doubted the message He gave!

OH MY GOODNESS! God is so patient, kind and loving. He continued to give me wisdom and discerment even when I chose to avoid handling the issue. He did not give up on me. He will not give up us. He is that kind of a loving and patient God.

I am learning to trust the Lord more fully especially when I discern that something is not right — before I take the next step as the wisdom and “knowing” may serve to protect or warn me. God invites us to ask for wisdom and He does give it to us, however, it is imperative to trust the wisdom and discernment that He gives, as this is most certainly the best way.

When I could no longer ignore the lack of peace I experienced, I confronted the issue with boldness and received the clarity that I so needed in that moment. I took courage and responded with obedience, finally! I received instruction for the next step soon after I came out of alignment with the business relationship that wasn’t right. The uncertainty, confusion and lack of peace are gone. I am thankful for God’s instruction and I am learning to exercise the muscle of discernment, as He shows me the right path. His ways are better than my way. God’s ways are trustworthy.