An Astounding Metamorphosis!
“We may not be able to bury Shelly near our Dad in the Jewish section of the cemetery….”
Shelly’s brother, Douglas, Emailed me in August of 2017. As I reflect, it seems much longer ago. I knew that Douglas had recently come to faith in Jesus. I had not as yet met him. He asked if I would call Shelly and proceeded to relay, “She doesn’t know Jesus, she hates God, and she is resistant!” My thoughts: God is able!!! This is HIS work!
Shelly and I exchanged several Emails and voicemails before we finally connected ear-to-ear. Shelly was transparent…”I’m an atheist.” I asked her, “Why?” Her animosity was overshadowed by her quivering voice which spoke to me of hope. She told me that she’d been calling out to God for years regarding her chronic back pain and her cancer. “He’s not answering me.” Following two quite lengthy conversations on the phone …after relaying much Scripture…during our third conversation on Sept. 6, 2017, Shelly prayed aloud, confessing her sin and placing her trust in Jesus! Throughout September we spoke on the phone regularly...for hours at a time. After having known the Lord for two days, Shelly asked me to pray that her faith would grow! One and a half weeks after Sept. 6th, Shelly shared that she’d been singing, “Jesus loves me this I know, for His mercy shows me so.” In the midst of continued pain, Shelly was reading her Bible, singing, and listening to sermons on her computer! My visits with Shelly in her apartment were filled with much joy!
A Pastor friend of mine who lived near Shelly, upon hearing about her new faith, contacted this new Jewish believer. Pastor R. visited Shelly and cleaned her apartment! A lovely couple from his congregation brought Shelly, in her wheel chair, to church. God’s mercy was quite evident in Shelly’s new life in Jesus! Multiple physical challenges and lack of sufficient bodily rest did not loom largely in her days. Shelly was focused on thanking God for His abundant blessings. Her growth in the Lord was evident; the lows she experienced were overcome more quickly by her acceptance and joyfulness! And, Shelly so loved talking about her glorious future in heaven with her Messiah. She wanted so much to see Jesus face-to-face!
On June 24, 2018, while living in a group home, Shelly was baptized by Douglas and Bobby, my husband. The bathtub in the group home served very well as the “baptismal pool.”
GOD did indeed transform a heart that had been most resistant toward God. BUT GOD had been at work softening Shelly’s heart before we first spoke on the phone. GOD changed Shelly. We were witnesses of an astounding metamorphosis! How often she would share with me how much she would enjoy working with children…how much she wanted to be used of God. Working with children wasn’t in the picture for Shelly. BUT GOD indeed used her in my life and in the lives of those who came alongside her.
Douglas was heavy-hearted when he shared, “We may not be able to bury Shelly near our Dad in the Jewish section of the cemetery since Shelly has come to faith in Jesus.”
BUT GOD led me to share on November 10 of this year, following Shelly’s home-going, “We are here at Shelly’s grave-site. I love it that we’re in the Jewish section of the cemetery! Shelly is not here. Shelly is dancing with Jesus!” The service began with the blowing of the shofar. I led the folks who attended in “Jesus loves me this I know for His mercy shows me so.” Non-believers and believers attended. Jesus was proclaimed…the Gospel was shared. We sang “Amazing Grace”…and the Aaronic benediction (Number 6:24-26) was chanted in Hebrew and in English. I do believe Shelly was used of God during her memorial service. The non-believers who gathered with us discovered Shelly's love for Jesus. And, perhaps, those visiting the Jewish section of the cemetery to pay their respects heard, quite unexpectedly, the words of Jesus, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
May God bless you with a GLORIOUS Thanksgiving because He lives!
Cathy Wilson
cathylouwilson@live.com
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