Post by Brother Ben on Jun 21, 2010 12:35:22 GMT -5
Dearest Brethren,
I just wanted to share a matchless Father's Day present I received this weekend. As some of you know, (or might not know,) my oldest son has been away from the Lord for almost three years. It has been the source to much pain and grief not only to his mother me, but also to his little brother and sisters.
He has been living at his girlfriends house, in her mothers house, for over a year. We have not liked this girl since day #1 because of some EXTREME issues. We made this known and she did not like us because of it and did everything to keep him from us. Darlene came to me in the early hours of Saturday at 4 A.M., with terrible pain, she was broken over her son. We prayed for her health. We both had been praying for Benjamin. As we would soon find out, God was at work.
He was going to borrow his girlfriends car to meet us for lunch on Saturday and she would not let him have her wheels. He called me kind of discouraged and asked if I could come and get him. I assured him I would and I did. We had lunch together, it was very pleasant. It was also the FIRST time he got to see his new baby sister (four months old,) not to mention he hasn't seen his mother since Thanksgiving (a crime punishable by death in some States, especially if you only live 1 hour away.)
After lunch my wife did some shopping and we got to have some one-on-one time. He opened up and shared how terrible his relationship is with this girl. I just let him pour out his heart. I shared my heart with him and told him he was making a lifelong mistake with this girl, that he had a bright future ahead of him and not to blow it on her. I told him he could come home and we would help him get things back together again. He began to weep and said he wanted to be home with us. It was great.
I told him he was going to have to walk the straight and narrow in front of his brother and sisters and go to church with us. He smiled and told me, he would and couldn't wait to come to church with us. It was a dream and many prayers come true!
Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, [and mother, insert mine] and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
I left off the verse about him not being worthy to be called my son because we always kept the lines of communication open. He knew Mama and Daddy loved him and that he was always welcomed back in the home.
Please keep him and us in your prayers as we work to help him get his life back together and most importantly show him the love and forgiveness of the Lord.
Ben
P.S. Oh! I left out the best part. He was going to leave Monday night, I was going to go and pick him up. She wasn't there when I dropped him off, but I suspected she was going to blow a fit, AND SHE DID. It was the nail in the coffin. He called a friend of his, (who has his own lawn care business and needed some help this week,) and he came and picked him up
Sunday at noon, not knowing what was going on, Darlene was at the altar at church pouring her heart out to God for her boy she loves so. We got this text when we got back in the van after church:
"I'm out safe and on my way to..."
Joy, brethren, joy, that's all I can say!
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
CLARIFICATION: I just want to make clear, he hasn't made any commitment or rededication to the Lord at this point, but Darlene and I are not accepting him in based on that, but because he is our boy and we know that God works in his own way and in his own time. We are content with that. Please pray.
I just wanted to share a matchless Father's Day present I received this weekend. As some of you know, (or might not know,) my oldest son has been away from the Lord for almost three years. It has been the source to much pain and grief not only to his mother me, but also to his little brother and sisters.
He has been living at his girlfriends house, in her mothers house, for over a year. We have not liked this girl since day #1 because of some EXTREME issues. We made this known and she did not like us because of it and did everything to keep him from us. Darlene came to me in the early hours of Saturday at 4 A.M., with terrible pain, she was broken over her son. We prayed for her health. We both had been praying for Benjamin. As we would soon find out, God was at work.
He was going to borrow his girlfriends car to meet us for lunch on Saturday and she would not let him have her wheels. He called me kind of discouraged and asked if I could come and get him. I assured him I would and I did. We had lunch together, it was very pleasant. It was also the FIRST time he got to see his new baby sister (four months old,) not to mention he hasn't seen his mother since Thanksgiving (a crime punishable by death in some States, especially if you only live 1 hour away.)
After lunch my wife did some shopping and we got to have some one-on-one time. He opened up and shared how terrible his relationship is with this girl. I just let him pour out his heart. I shared my heart with him and told him he was making a lifelong mistake with this girl, that he had a bright future ahead of him and not to blow it on her. I told him he could come home and we would help him get things back together again. He began to weep and said he wanted to be home with us. It was great.
I told him he was going to have to walk the straight and narrow in front of his brother and sisters and go to church with us. He smiled and told me, he would and couldn't wait to come to church with us. It was a dream and many prayers come true!
Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, [and mother, insert mine] and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
I left off the verse about him not being worthy to be called my son because we always kept the lines of communication open. He knew Mama and Daddy loved him and that he was always welcomed back in the home.
Please keep him and us in your prayers as we work to help him get his life back together and most importantly show him the love and forgiveness of the Lord.
Ben
P.S. Oh! I left out the best part. He was going to leave Monday night, I was going to go and pick him up. She wasn't there when I dropped him off, but I suspected she was going to blow a fit, AND SHE DID. It was the nail in the coffin. He called a friend of his, (who has his own lawn care business and needed some help this week,) and he came and picked him up
Sunday at noon, not knowing what was going on, Darlene was at the altar at church pouring her heart out to God for her boy she loves so. We got this text when we got back in the van after church:
"I'm out safe and on my way to..."
Joy, brethren, joy, that's all I can say!
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
CLARIFICATION: I just want to make clear, he hasn't made any commitment or rededication to the Lord at this point, but Darlene and I are not accepting him in based on that, but because he is our boy and we know that God works in his own way and in his own time. We are content with that. Please pray.