Welcome, From my heart to yours,
1 John 3:1 NIV
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
And that is what we are! I love this verse!
I personally have felt the strength and peace of God’s great love. This verse reminds me of when I was a young girl. My family could not afford the pleasures of family vacations or going out to eat. Instead, we would go to a special spot called “Wintergreen Park” in upstate New York. It was free; we would take a packed lunch and spend the day there walking down the gorge. There were spots along the way where there were deep pools of water to swim in. The floor of the pool was slick with flat rocks. There were places along the side of the pools where we could sit on rocks, under small waterfalls and let the warm fresh water flow over us. At the end of the gorge was a big waterfall with cliffs that surrounded it. We would jump off the cliffs into beautiful clear water. It was a refreshing & pleasant memory for me, as a child. I will never forget how completely satisfying it was to visit such a tranquil place.
What a beautiful picture of God “lavishing His love on us”- To experience God’s creation that way not only physically but spiritually, Which brings me to the most endearing memory from my childhood… the day My Heavenly Father’s Love was poured over my whole family, much like that waterfall.
It was a summer day in 1977, in a little country church, my whole family made the most important decision of our lives. We prayed and asked Jesus to come into our hearts. We asked Him to forgive us and wash our sins away. Much like that waterfall we used to sit under at Wintergreen, the sorrows and fears just “fell off” of us that day.
My parents, two brothers, my sister and I walked down the aisle of that little church to that peaceful spot, the altar, to bow our knees and our hearts before Him, God’s overwhelming love made such an impression on me that I remember it like it was yesterday. I was wearing a flowered, baby blue summer dress handmade by my mom.
We all had been in turmoil before that day. My parents constantly argued and they were on the verge of divorce until that day when they gave their lives to Jesus. Months later, my father confessed to the Pastor that he could not have lived without my mom and if it had not been for that day, he had a shotgun and was contemplating ending his life. Instead we became Children of God. I became, “A child of Christ”; I was now “Daddy’s (God’s) girl!” I love that!
It is my prayer that Deaf woman come to know him as their Abba Father.
Romans 8:15
“For ye have not receive d the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of ad option, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”
As I look back on my childhood, before asking Jesus into my heart, I felt surrounded by fear. I remember at bedtime, crying out to God, “Please don’t send me to hell; I’m so afraid”. God heard my prayers and not long after that I became friends with a young girl (my age) whose family loved God with all their hearts. I could see there was something different about them. I felt God reach down and rescue me. I thank Him today for answering my prayer when I was a little girl. He changed my life and is still working on me.
At OMDC, we have a group of women who have all made that same decision. We daily experience God’s great love in our lives as we walk with Him. He is our guide. We each have our own story. We are all different, but we all share the love of God our Father.
It hasn’t always been an easy road; we all face ups and downs, but our desire is for OMDC women’s ministry to be a place of healing where we can share our sorrows and our joys together; OMDC women’s ministry is a place where we can be real. Why? Because we have an all-forgiving Father in Heaven and in our hearts. He loves us through it all. He will never give up on us and we can trust Him. Our prayer is that other Deaf women feel at home here. We are all sisters in God’s big family. Come check us out and we will be sure to lay out the “Welcome” mat for you.
God bless & May God lavish His love on you,
Karla Babin ~ Pastor’s Wife and Assemblies Of God, US Missionary
Psalm 3:3
“He lifts my chin up”