Even when God sounds crazy...

Sometimes when I hear others talk about their relationship with God it sounds so beautiful and reverent.  But throughout my Blue Monarch journey, there have been many times when my conversations with God have included lines such as, “What were you thinking, Lord?!” or even “Dear God - are you crazy?!”

One such time was a late night when I was driving down the interstate returning from Nashville.  There I was, minding my own business, listening to music way too loud with the sunroof open.  But suddenly, out of the blue, I heard God tell me, “You need to go by Blue Monarch and pray over Kristi”.  (This is not her real name, by the way.)

Well, it was almost 10:30 and there was no way I was doing that.  I wasn’t accustomed to walking in the door that late at night and certainly not into someone’s bedroom.  Our residents would think I had lost my mind!  And I also convinced myself it would frighten them, and that was reason enough not to go.  So, there.

“For crying out loud, that’s crazy.  I’m not doing it.”  End of story.

But as I drove further down the interstate I began thinking of Kristi and the struggles she had recently experienced.  Over the previous weeks she had lost most of her hearing and no one could figure out why.  It was frustrating for her because she could barely hear, and as a recovering addict in a new place, recently out of jail, healing from a severely abusive marriage, she had enough to deal with.

As I got closer and closer to the exit I would need to take for Blue Monarch, the message from God just got louder and louder.  I couldn’t ignore it no matter how loud I turned up the music.  So as usual, I thought I would cut a deal with God and settle this conflict on my terms.

“Okay, okay, God.  This is the deal.  I will drive out to Blue Monarch – even though it’s now almost 11:00 at night.  If Kristi’s light is on, I’ll go in.  But if she’s in bed, I’m turning around and going home.  And by the way, this is crazy, just so you know.” 

As I drove into the dark driveway at Blue Monarch, and made my way to the Woods House where Kristi was staying, I expected to see a totally dark house.  But there was one single light on downstairs.  I quietly opened the door and walked inside.  And what did I find?  Kristi was the only one awake, and she was sitting there almost like she was expecting me. 

I sat down next to her and said, “I know this sounds crazy, but God told me to come pray with you.”  And at that point I could hear God telling me to place my hands over her ears, which I did, even though it felt like a weird thing to do. Then He told me to tell Kristi that it was safe for her to hear now, that she was not going to hear the hurtful things she had heard in the past. 

As soon as I told her this she collapsed and began to weep.  And I’m sure you know the rest of the story.  Her hearing began returning almost immediately.

Thank you, Lord, for showing me your tremendous power of healing through something I thought was just a crazy idea.  And, oh by the way, thank you for being so patient with me for thinking I knew better. What was I thinking?!