CHAPTER TEN - INCORRUPTIBLE SEED

Chapter Ten

INCORRUPTIBLE SEED

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which
liveth and abideth forever." I Peter 1:22

Day after day she lay there. The hushed sounds of the doctors and nurses voices, combined with the dark room, caused fear to grip her heart. She had been immobilized. She wasn't to move. One move could cause instant death. They had called it an aneurysm. She wasn't quite sure what that meant. All she remembered was a knife splitting pain in her head and everything went dark.

Lying there, suspended precariously between life and death, Penny (not her real name) had a lot of time to think. Her mind played back the last 30 years of her life and it wasn't a pretty picture. The most recent chapter had been written while in the very act of prostitution. The man with her when her brain seemed to explode was terrified. He hadn't bargained for this in his night's pleasure. He certainly wasn't waiting around to find out what was going to happen to Penny.

Her mom was there, holding her hand, praying for her. And clear across the country there were others praying for Penny; a grandmother in California, an aunt and uncle in Georgia; many others. "God spare this girl. Help her to turn her life over to you before it's too late."

I hadn't seen Penny in over twenty years. Through the grapevine I had received news about her. She had gone through several husbands, had two children of whom she eventually lost custody, and generally just wasn't able to find her niche in life.
My step-mother Margie, whom everyone fondly called "Nana", was always calling me to pray for one family member or another, but especially for Penny. "Jerri, if there's not a miracle, Penny is going to die," she said in tears. I cried with her and assured her of our prayers.

Finally, the crisis passed. Brain surgeons had used their wisdom and skill to clean up the dreaded blood clot. They put a plate in Penny's head and a shunt to drain unwanted fluid from the skull area, lest the brain be compressed, causing eventual death.

The three weeks of total immobilization and brain surgery paid off. Penny was out of danger but, better than her physical recovery, was her commitment to Christ during her sojourn into the valley of the shadow of death.

At Nana's funeral, some five years later, I saw Penny for the first time since she was a little girl. Immediately, we were drawn to each other. Oh, no doubt about it. Penny was a new creation. But the years had taken their toll. Now in her mid-thirties, without her children, unable to hold a steady job because of her physical disabilities, Penny was a lonely young woman.

I learned she had a boyfriend in another state where she was living. It all sounded nice but something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it, but we hugged and kissed and said we would keep in touch when we returned to our homes. I continued to pray for Penny.

Several months went by and we got a call from my sister. "Penny's stranded in Texas. Can she come and stay with you?" Absolutely! No way would we turn her down.
Picking her up at the bus station in nearby Hawkinsville, the missing pieces started coming together.

This "wonderful boyfriend"' turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Taking advantage of Penny's childlike trust, he talked her into selling all of her furniture and personal belongings, except her clothes, and then used the money to meet his own needs. He told her they would start a new life together and get married when they got to his son's house.

Deliriously happy, Penny believed him. She paid for a tune up for his car, bought him tires, and paid for gas and food. They got as far as Texas, when the money ran out. So did his love. "We're through", he said callously. "I never meant to marry you."

In complete disillusionment, Penny called her mother, asking her what she should do. She had three dollars to her name, all her worldly goods in two suitcases and two boxes, and if that were not enough, a broken heart to top it off.

Knowing that Penny had transferred her disability check to an Albany, Georgia address, my sister called us and asked if Penny could stay with us until things got straightened out with her money situation.

Driving home from Hawkinsville, we let Penny know she was loved and that it was a privilege to be her family, to be able to help her in her situation. She was exhausted from traveling across the country for five days, but relieved to know that she was with people who cared. Thrilled to be with family who wouldn't condemn her.

As the days went by, her tragic story began to unfold. Years of feeling inferior to others...being considered a dumb child, when all the while she was stone deaf in one ear, making it difficult, and sometimes impossible to understand what the teachers were saying.

Into adulthood a pattern of bad relationships evolved until finally she wound up in prostitution. It seemed an easy way to make money. She suppressed the guilt that would continually try to surface.

"I always thought of the Bible you gave me, Aunt Jerri. You put the date in it and wrote that I had asked Jesus in my heart. I knew better than to live the way I was, but I couldn't seem to stop myself."

When Penny was seven, we had been visiting at Nana's. She and her big brother Tom had eagerly listened as I told them about Jesus. They bowed their heads and prayed that day. It was a special day, and I had given them each a Bible with the date in it so they would never forget their prayer to Jesus.

Jesus never forgot it either. His word, the incorruptible seed, had taken root in their hearts. He would follow them both through many trials and when they would willingly give Him their all, He would be there to receive them.

During the three and a half weeks that Penny stayed with us, the Lord showed Himself as so compassionate and loving. He wasn't mad at her. He wasn't disappointed in her. He had been there all the time. She was to learn that her security was not to rest in relationships with men, but with Him.

Using the time with us as a spiritual oasis, Penny traveled with us to several prisons where Charlie and I were ministering the word of God. Drinking in the word at church, Women's Aglow Fellowships and other Christian functions, we saw her blossom.

Taking her to a passion play in Macon, the Lord drew her with cords of love. Weeping, she went forward and recommitted her life to Christ.

Yes, God is faithful. Faithful even when we're not; even when we're deceived by the enemy. His word is incorruptible. It will bring forth fruit in us. It will get us through.

As our daughter Linda prepared to take Penny to the airport, we all hugged and cried. Penny was going to be okay. She had loving Christian friends who were waiting for her. She had a church that could forgive her for not being more discerning in her decisions. And she had the Word of God.

Arriving safely home, Penny called to let us know that everything was fine. Her first Sunday in church was like starting her Christian life all over again. A visiting evangelist singled her out and spoke words of encouragement to her. God had forgiven her for making a foolish decision. He cared about her. She was overwhelmed with the thought that she was special to God.
Penny is special to us too.

When you think about it, we're all special to God.......we just need to be reminded from time to time.

Prayer for Today

Dear Lord,

Help me be willing to pick up my Christian brothers and sisters who have stumbled. And, Lord, when I pick them up, I’ll try to remind them they are special to you. Sometimes people forget that, Lord. Let my home be the oasis where they can learn that you are a God who restores those who have gone astray.

In Jesus name,

Amen