LARA’S EVACUATION – SUPPORT NEEDED
“To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalms 61:1-2
By the grace of God alone, I packed up 10 special needs & senior rescued dogs, handed off an 11th to a beloved friend, packed their medications, wheelchairs, etc., along with MOST IMPORTANTLY the Lord Jesus Christ in my heart, my Bible, my laptop computer, a few extra Bibles, my Gospel tracts & devotionals, my big industrial printer to print more tracts and devotionals as needed, a special stapler, a heart on fire for the Lord, and after 3 failed attempts at rentals loaded up in a cargo van and had almost NO traffic for a two-day trip to western Loudoun, County VA, knowing i had friends there but no idea how it would all work out or where I would stay. God worked, and is working, it all out. I am safe and sound more in love with the Lord than ever, more desirous than ever to see this world repent and turn to faith in and lives committed to Christ forever.
As I drove out of my area, with the national guard on the sides of the highway, an eerie feeling all about, a sense of death too close, not because of the hurricane necessarily as I knew not the outcome of the storm and resulting mandatory evacuation, but I sensed the wrath of God so close against this world for our continued rebellion against Him. I can only think the world is so clearly drawing to a close and we are running out of time as humanity to repent and give our lives to Christ to receive forgiveness and a forever relationship with God now and in heaven instead of eternity in hell and the lake of fiery fire forever apart from God.
I watched as I drove for about 11 hours total, the beginning hours imagining some of the people on the highway were people evacuating, hauling with them what mattered most in the event their homes would be destroyed in the storm.
What matters most, my friends? What matters most in your heart? A pastor I know preaches about how we won’t take our U-Haul It trucks filled with our material possessions to heaven or hell. Yet when we are forced to evacuate, what do we scramble around grabbing hold of? God has changed me so dramatically. I had almost nothing of luxury in my house to take, nothing that mattered, knowing that if I could just leave safely with my faith in Christ intact, the dogs God entrusted to me with me in faithfulness to Him though albeit in truth I burned out with dog rescue some years ago and am just being faithful with the last of the ones in my care, and, more important than anything else in my life, my devotedness to Christ. My dedication to Him. My heart His forever.
I share with you astonishingly, over weeks past, I wrote my prayer team and told them I sensed God wanted me to start traveling. I had not gone away a single night in over six years because of the dogs. And I sensed He was sending me back to Virginia / DC for ministry at least for a visit if not continued visits or even one day a move despite my hating cold weather. I had no idea a hurricane was nearing, nor that I would need to evacuate. But God was preparing me, the most important preparation in my heart being my relationship with the Lord growing day by day as He conforms me to Christ’s image.
Handing out tracts, a Bible, talking to people about the Lord on my way to Virginia, wondering, what is God doing? The enemy tried to stop me. When he saw I would go anyway to Virginia, and I started off, he tried to get me stuck or to turn around. I did neither. In God’s strength alone, with my life dedicated to the Lord, I am on my way to where God is leading me, no matter where that is, for His purpose and His glory.
I was so exhausted when I got to VA from the big evacuation and weeks prior of exhaustion and fierce spiritual battle not to mention years of exceeding work with the dogs with almost no help, but God sent friends to support me and help me press on.
Now, I see, in the past few days through this evacuation, He is restoring friendships, bringing people together as He uses me to introduce me though I am from far away and they are near, opening doors to people’s hearts for me to minister to them, and, this morning, He blessed me with this. A friend who had been out of touch a long while checked in with me to see if I’m okay. I mentioned as she is in VA that my prayer team is based in VA but has never met and that I wanted to get us together. She shared she too had started a prayer team. Long story short, in a few hours, I will be on my way to join her prayer team where she will introduce me to a man also involved in prison ministry as I recently started ministering on death row by God’s calling and grace alone where the inmates have been getting my tracts & devotionals for some time and as the Lord has opened a door into a very large women’s prison in SC for my tracts & devotionals and if it’s His will for me to minister there as well.
I have felt a strong leading that God wanted me to start ministering in the DC area where I was raised and very possibly to the homeless at least by sending tracts and possibly in person, as I am blessed to minister to the homeless and others in extreme need in GA near where I live in SC. He is orchestrating, orchestrating, as I learn to listen and follow and live to honor, praise, love, worship, adore, revere, and love Him forever and evermore.
My message to you this day. Keep your heart open, and your eyes open. Don’t miss your opportunities. What may seem nothing more nor less than a mighty storm, a major stress, challenges, hurdles, obstacles, don’t let it be a distraction, don’t fall into fear as I have done in such a way that you don’t repent and return to the Lord, and see what it is He desires to do amidst the storm. We don’t have to look in retrospect at a storm we went through to see what we missed in the way of what God wanted. Instead, right as the storm rages, and life’s hurdles are bold and loud in our faces, we can humble ourselves before God and repent of any sin against Him and seek His face and stay steadily in His Word and listen for His voice and follow as HE leads us forth in His love for His glory.
Love, prayer, and encouragement would be very welcome.
Donations would be enormously appreciated right now!!!!
If you do not know the Lord, if you are not His committed follower, if you do not know who He is or how to give your life to Him, what repentance is, about heaven and hell, how to devote your life to Him, or you know about Him but are lukewarm, and want to hear of the most precious gift in the universe, how to have a forever relationship with God through Christ and live wholly for Him, please contact me at 843-338-2219. I may not know what this storm will bring, or where God will take me day to day, but no matter my stress or challenges, I would be blessed to hear from you and to help you follow Him forever.
Love & blessings,