“Now the Lord said to
Abram. “Go forth from your relatives and from your father’s house, To the land
which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you”
(Gen. 12:1-2).
Hey Gang: When is a
gift more than a gift? But, is the fulfillment of a prophetic word that was
laid on my heart more than fifty years ago.
It came at I time I was struggling with a huge failure in my life. I was a counselor in a Juvenile Hall in
California where I encountered a young lad who begged for help on each of his
eight previous trips through the Center. I, the system, had failed him. And now he faces a life of being locked away
from society because his frustration led him to take the life of a Godly woman,
who reached out to him.
On that rainy night when the police brought this fourteen-year
old into Juvenile Hall and I locked him into his cell, I made a promise to
myself - I would either find a way to be a light in the hearts of some of these
lost kids or I would become a ‘Plumber’s Helper’! I could no longer continue on the path of
doing nothing but warehousing these youth.
But what Lord? I am a
nobody in this world. My prayer was very
simple, Lord, I have nothing to offer. I
have achieved no great plateaus in my life, nothing that stands out on my
resume. My name means nothing to anyone
but my family and friends. All I really
have to offer you is me and the promise that if you will guide me and show me
the way to help even one, I will be obedient.
As I look back on that time in my life, I believe the one
word that God heard was “Obedient”. To
tell you what happened in the months and years that followed that commitment
would take many pages and that is not my intent of this epistle. A trip to Michigan to lick my wounds. Rainy day with four active kids in a small
cottage. A visit with friends in their home. The sharing of the frustrations I
felt in my heart. A seed of a pipe dream that was growing in my heart was
planted. But was it a pipe dream? or the
answer to a prophetic dream?
My Michigan friend shared my frustrations with a judge, who
then shared the message with other judges and all agreed they needed someplace
to send the increase number of kids, who were showing upon in their courts, a place that was not going to warehouse them,
but lead them into a path of positive success.
Shortly after our return to California, I received what I
thought was a dream; but now, after the fact, I believe it was a prophetic word
of what God would do through me, if I was obedient. He showed me a wagon wheel of services that
one day would consist of a main campus for those who needed full time care
could receive quality services. But
there would be spokes leading out into the communities with offices and support
people for youth and families who were struggling and in need of a push in the
right direction.
There is no way to explain the rapid growth of the Village
Campus and the excellent programs that are available today on campus, it is a
miracle! It truly has been a miracle
from the Throne Room in heaven. This
past week another miracle was completed. A friend of the Village donated an
office building in a city, Big Rapids. It was dedicated and officially brought
into service. It is but the first of
others that are also in the plan. How do
I know this, because God showed me a completed wagon wheel of services and this
is but the first step to completion of that prophetic word.
When I have had the opportunity to share this tremendous
miracle that He allowed me to play a tiny part in its development, I always
address my words to those who are pew- sitters and believe they have nothing to
give to God. If you happen to be one of
them, I challenge you this very day to read Matthew 25:31-46.
“Truly, I say to you,
to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least
of them, you did it to Me.” (Matt.
25:40). So, get your antenna up and be
prepared to be used- today and every day- by the Lord of lords.
Blessings,
Gramps
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