TODAY'S TESTIMONY

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:11)

The above verse from the last book of the Bible is very powerful. I have preached whole sermons on just that verse (using the three ways the Believers OVERCAME the enemy as my three points). I want to focus on point TWO today, "the word of their testimony". How powerful a testimony of what God has done is!

Today, something very special happened to me. Last night, I sat and wrote three letters. You know, it's one thing to write on a computer and push a "send" button, and I do that all the time; and it's one thing to type a letter on your word processor, print it out and mail it. It's an entirely different matter to take paper and pen and sit and write out several letters in script. (For me, printing is easier and I usually print my letters, but last night I wrote three letters in script.) When you sit and write a letter in script to a loved one, it truly is a labor of love.

What I wrote in these letters is very personal. I wrote one to a family member sharing some very special inspiring words. I wrote one to a family friend, sharing thoughts of appreciation and encouraging words. Finally, I wrote one to a good friend who has been going through a difficult time. I knew the weather would be bad today, so I took a gallon sized "freezer bag" and placed all the letters inside. THAT way, they would not get wet from any rain, snow, or sleet.

I left for work fairly early this morning. We had about two inches of snow on the ground in Webster, and by the time I was clearing off the car, it was mostly rain with a little snow and sleet mixed in. I had a lot to carry to the car today; several bags of one kind of another...including the freezer bag with the letters. When I arrived at the parking lot by VIP Answering Service, I noticed that the clear bag with the letters did NOT seem to be in the car. I had only five minutes to get into work but I looked and looked and LOOKED and it was not there!

I've got to tell you, I was heartbroken and I was upset! I figured with all that "junk" in my hands I must have accidentally dropped the clear bag with the letters. Our "back yard" at the duplex in Webster is really not a yard, it is an asphalt parking lot. The other half of the duplex is an insurance company, and before our home was an apartment it was previously a construction company's office. The good news is that the lot gets plowed. But considering the bag with the letters, the bad news is that it gets plowed. I could picture that plow blade just shredding that bag and letters as it deposited them in a snowbank. OR, perhaps they would somehow be spared, but I'd find the letters exposed to the elements and laying soaked in a puddle when I got home.

Something like this can get me very preoccupied. I knew if I didn't get it out of my mind, I would probably make a hundred serious mistakes at work today. So I had to trust the Lord to give me peace and enable me to not think about it and do my job.

Several times today I prayed, "Lord, PLEASE protect those letters, Lord PLEASE spare those letters."

As an act of faith, on the way home I stopped at the Framingham Centre post office on Route 9 and bought stamps for the letters. When I pulled into my residence's parking lot, it had indeed been plowed. I got out of the car, and my eyes scanned the lot and the snowbanks. I saw no evidence of the plastic bag or letters. My heart sank, just a little. I walked up to our door, and saw something stuffed into the doorpost area.

COULD IT BE?

It was!

It was the plastic bag and letters PERFECTLY intact! No wetness, no dirt, no damage. I am not sure if the insurance guy put the bag there, or a neighbor, but the bottom line is GOD did it.

I got choked up and said right out loud to God, "This means so much to me".

I put the stamps on the letters, drove to downtown Webster and dropped them in a mailbox.

And then, I went to the public library's reference room to the computers, for I just HAD to give this testimony!