Moving up...moving out?

[coveredinharmony]

Hi, there, dear brothers and sisters! I know it's been a long time since I've really been active in this group. Life has been incredibly crazy lately. I'm about to graduate from college with my BA in Sign Language and Deaf Studies. It's definitely been a blessing to learn to sign. I've had the opportunity to touch many lives within the Deaf community and definitely feel a calling to minister to the Deaf. We'll see where the Lord takes me

Anyway, after I graduate, I plan to finish up with an interpreter training program. I really am quite sick of school, but at least the ITP is only a year and a half (praise the Lord). I was going to move in with an aunt near one of the schools in this area, but it fell through (and while I love my dear aunt, it has become clear that I would have not been in a good environment!). My grandmother has offered to take me in. She lives an hour away from another school (my parents live a good two hours away, and I can take public transportation if I live with my grandmother). Part of me is really honestly relieved to be moving.

I know that sounds awful, but it's gotten a little weird around my parents' home. My Papa "discovered" that I believe in a literal six day special Creation, and ever since it's sort of been like I have some strange disease that they're trying to cure me of. Every night I've been cooking my own dinner (which isn't that unusual, since my parents get home after seven at night and I go to bed at 8) and withdrawing to my bedroom around 6:45. Last night, my parents watched a program on "proofs of evolution," which was basically showing natural selection and "transitional species" (I'm not kidding, their best example was the turkey, since its legs have scales, but it's a bird...).They watch these kinds of shows often, and my heart just breaks when I hear them agreeing with these foolish ideas (that I have refuted before them; they will not listen since I’m not a “scientist.”). My Mom has also made comments about me looking like a polygamist (it took me a while to understand it, until I realized that there is a show about Mormon polygamists that they watch).

It's weird, because any time I offer up a gently-spoken response (I know better than to answer in anger!) I get rebuffed and sneered at. When I try to just talk about something like work, or school, I get a mostly-friendly response, but it's clear that I am not accepted like I used to be. It's weird, too, because over the last few months the Lord has really worked in my heart and I WANT to obey my parents. I certainly haven't been perfect, but I've been doing things that my parents have wanted done for months, etc and yet the only thing that gets noticed are my "FLDS dresses."

I hope I don’t come off in the wrong attitude. I’m just frustrated. I am more and more convicted that I should submit to my parents, but it’s hard, dear brethren, to do so in this environment. I have it settled in my heart that every day before my parents get home, I will clean the kitchen (a major sore spot with my Mom, even if it’s not at all my mess) and get the laundry washed. I try to have a sweet spirit toward my parents, always. I am every day weeping for their souls. Brethren, could you please pray for me? I’m just not sure what I should do at this point to be the daughter God wants me to be in this situation. I am also a little torn about moving out to my grandmother’s house. Do you all think this is OK to do in this situation? Could you give me some Scripture to guide me?

“In other news” I am also praising the Lord for a new fellowship that the Lord has revealed to me. It’s about an hour from my house, and it’s essentially an Anabaptist homechurch that recently moved into a small building (five large families, I suppose, are too large for one house). The sisters cover and dress very modestly, they tend to homeschool, the women are at home, they are very conservative doctrine-wise. I have been writing back and forth with a few of the brothers, and I am honestly quite excited for this possibility. I of course am going to be cautious, but please praise the Lord with me 

I hope that I will be able to be more active on this board now. Life is beginning to settle down, and oh the work the Lord has been doing even amidst the chaos. I’ve begun reading through the Word at a rapid pace (I should go through the entire Bible one a month), and wow are my eyes being opened. My heart is being opened to the lost around me. I’ve begun being more diligent to learn homemaking skills. I just am so full of praise for God that sometimes I forget the environment I am living in. I do pray that the Lord let me forget the challenges and remember my dear parents’ souls, and His dear love.

:-) Thank you all for your prayers. I hope my writing is legible. I’ve been working with a group of Deaf children lately, and my English tends to lean toward ASL grammar, I’m afraid

Love in Christ,

Little sister Sarah

[George]

Little Sister Sarah, my heart goes out to you and your current living situation. It must be extremely difficult to hold to what you believe when you have no support from those who are supposed to be supporting you, namely your parents. For them to ridicule you and talk down what you believe is completely wrong.

I believe making the change to living with your Grandmother to be a very good one. How is she in relationship to God and His ways? Hopefully she will be supportive of you.

I can understand your wanting to obey you parents. However there is a requirement of obeying a much greater Entity, namely our Holy Father.

"(Act 5:29) Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."

You see, this is a problem that goes back to the days of our Saviour's time on this earth. The ultimate authority is God. We must strive within ourselves to obey Him rather than anyone including our parents. If our parents dictate or support something that is against the teachings of the Bible we have an obligation to the One who save us to follow Him rather than any man.

I know of another young lady who lived in similar circumstances. Her mother was a single woman. The mother constantly ridiculed her for her beliefs. She fell in love with a young man that was a few years older than her, a godly man by any test. This young lady was not quite 18 years old. As soon as she turned 18 they were married. You may think this to be rather soon to be married yet they are living a wonderful life for the Lord. In fact in the area they live they are doing 5 radio shows a week on behalf of the Lord. My friend the young lady used to come home from school or work and sit in her bedroom and cry. That is all she did. Without God and her now husband in her life she would have been desolate.

The point is that she followed God's leading. The two of them prayed and prayed about the concept of marriage. They came to peace with the decision to do so. The bottom line is that the Lord provided her a way out of the terrible situation she was living in. I believe that by being able to move and live with your grandmother the Lord has also provided you a way out of the ungodly atmosphere you live in.

Incidentally, our Church supports a missionary who is a missionary to the deaf in Peru. Her name is Lynn Porter. She has been in Iquitos Peru for many years. She loves what she is doing on behalf of the Lord. One of her primary sources of joy is doing Sunday school with deaf youngsters. Let me give you a link to her web site. Perhaps you might want to contact her. There is a link on her homepage to send her email.

lynnporter.ourmissionaries.org/

I shall be praying for you.

In Christ,
George

[George]

I forgot to mention that I noticed the link to the Pocket Testament League at the bottom of your post. I belong to that organization and am in the process of applying to become a speaker rep for them and God. I am very joyful at the prospect of being able to present the League to Churches.

In Christ,
George

[benshelpmeet]

Dear sister Sarah I poured out my heart in a long post,sharing about my mama and me and encouraging you and something happened and my computer erased it all... I can not try and retype it because I have to go. You could give me a call at home if you would like. PM me for my number if you wish. I'll pay for the call.

Psa 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

I'm praying for you dear precious sister Sarah, and I'm proud of you.

Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[Tammy]

Dear Sarah, I am praying for you! And I'm so proud of your stand for Christ. What a testimony you must have before your family. Perhaps one day they will come to know Him.

[coveredinharmony]

Thank you all for your prayers. The Lord really is strengthening me to walk in purity before my parents. I do pray about marriage, but I'm not sure when or if that will happen any time soon. It's in the Lord's hands, really. We'll see where He has me to go, and who with if He does not will me to walk alone

My grandmother is from what I can tell not a Christian. If she is, she never mentions it, which in my book is a big sign that a person is not a Christian. She's very much a "live and let live" kind of person. She was raised in a home with some Christian values, a moderately conservative mainstream 1950s family. She follows a lot of pop psychology, does tai chi (she broke her hips a few years ago and tells me it helps, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole personally, even if my hips were broken), etc etc. I do though feel that my dear Grandma would be at least open to me living a Christian life before her, and Lord willing open to the Gospel. Actually, come to think of it, my grandparents have never once asked me about why I dress the way I do. They asked me once when I was first born again why I wear skirts, and I sort of shrugged it off. But ever since there hasn't been one question. That's often the initial push of the snowball in terms of discussing Christ that has opened many beautiful doors in peoples' lives. So may it be with my dear Grandma.

Thank you again all for your prayers. I love you all in Christ.

Little sister Sarah

PS I can't remember who first gave me that nickname (someone called me "little sister"), but I am still grateful for it.

[lisa]

I am praying for you sister. I know this cannot be easy. I will pray for you that the Lord will give you wisdom on what His perfect will is. When your parents get saved it will all be worth it. And if they never get saved You are still being faithful to Your Lord and Savior and all of your obedience will not be wasted. God will bless your obedience to Him. Blessings to you Lisa


But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Luke 6:22,23

[Deleted]

Dear Little Sister Sarah, my heart breaks for your pain over your parents and your grandmother. I am just now beginning to get the questions about the changes in my life. I know it is difficult, but all difficulties endured for the Lord bring about great blessings. I will be praying for you and for your dear family.

Love, Sister Debbie S.

[coveredinharmony]

Thank you all for your encouragement and your prayers! It is so dear to me.

I want to rejoice with you all. My mother and I wound up having a discussion today for about an hour after she got angry with me (she couldn't find some tape, and blamed me for it. I said I didn't know where it was, and that sparked anger on her part. But the Lord used it for good, and I so praise His Name!). We discussed many things, and I repented before her of all of the attitudes I've had toward her. I poured my heart out before her. We discussed many things, and oh some of them so thrilled my heart! We talked about how many, many people have perverted the simplicity of the Gospel and of the Scriptures and made of it a perverted god of their own choosing. I showed her how the Bible liberates women, exalts them as bearers of life and as equal to men, and how women have a powerful role even though it is not in the "work world." I discussed with her a little bit about the absurdities of evolution (namely, how DNA is impossible to form randomly, since there are over 4x250,000,000 parts, and if one is "off" the chain dissolves; not to mention that amino acids, the building blocks of DNA, are destroyed by sunlight and oxygen/water). By the time we were done talking, she was calm and contemplative. Please, please pray for her and for my father. I love them so dearly, and want nothing more than for them to at least understand the Gospel, if not to accept it (after all, my parents are rejecting a counterfeit gospel, at least the one they bring to me objections to).

I love you all, dear brethren!

Little sister Sarah

[nightingale]

Dear Little Sister Sarah

My heart rejoices reading your posts...Your stand for Christ is inspirational! I pray that you will continue your journey down the straight and narrow and continue to be a light that lights the way for your parents...It is a blessing to see young people with such big faith..
We love you dear sister, praying always for you.
Love Sis Debbie

[George]

I discussed with her a little bit about the absurdities of evolution (namely, how DNA is impossible to form randomly, since there are over 4x250,000,000 parts, and if one is "off" the chain dissolves; not to mention that amino acids, the building blocks of DNA, are destroyed by sunlight and oxygen/water).

Let me share with you something I find humorous on this subject.

One day the Lord decided to pay a visit to a world renowned research scientist. When the Lord approached the scientist He said to him: "I hear you thing you're pretty hot stuff?" The scientist told the Lord, "Oh yes, you can go ahead and retire now. We don't need you any more. We can produce life in the laboratory."

The Lord said to the scientist, "Okay then, let's see yo do it. You know I made life from a handful of dust."

The scientist leaned over and picked up a hand full of dirt and said, "Watch this."

The Lord said, "No, no, no, no! Use YOUR dirt."

Now this did not actually happen but it really sort of puts all of these research scientists in perspective, doesn't it?

In Christ,
George

[Tammy]

I like that story, Bro. George. Very poignant and relevant!

Little Sister Sarah, I am rejoicing over that conversation you had with your mother! That is so very exciting, just the fact that she listened and was thinking about what you said... Hallelujah!