This past weekend, out church had an awesome Women's retreat called Restored! It was an amazing day filled with laughter and tears! We had wonderful music along with three speakers who were fabulous! Each had their own idea of what "Restored" meant to them and each shared their story. Each one was so unique and so honest. As they gave their testimony as to what had happened in their lives, we each took away something to comfort our hearts. And, some women felt that a part of them began to heal. What an incredible gift it was!
I had the privilege of taking one of the speakers to the airport on Sunday and what a beautiful gift she gave me as we talked at lunch and then on the way to the airport. Her name is Stephanie Fast and I hope you get her book from Amazon called "She is Mine." God made that statement to a mission nurse as she started to walk away from this little girl dumped in a garage heap. The nurse named Iris' feet were like concrete. She could not walk away and leave this little girl and audibily heard God tell her that "She is Mine!" Wow!! What a story she has to tell!
What Stephanie has gone through in her life was so startling and so sad on one hand and yet, she brought out the redemption that only the Blood of Jesus could bring! I am not going to tell her story, but I am going to reflect on what she taught me through her story and her resilience! I really hope you will buy the book or borrow it to read or learn more from her website.
I know some people have gone through so much pain and suffering as a child and I do not want to trample on anyone's heart in a negative way, so please forgive me if this blog triggers some of those feelings you thought you had worked through and perhaps healed from. And, I hope this will not create a new fracture line in your heart. My intention is that this writing may bring you hope and ultimately JOY! There is so much to be grateful for even in our suffering......I hope you will agree.
If you were born in to a "regular" family, and had all the comforts of a loving home, I pray that you will stop and give thanks for those parents, grandparents and siblings that you may have grown up with over your lifetime. If not, I pray this will encourage you to seek help with friends, prayer warriors and/or a counselor that can help you learn to work through all those rough spots in your upbringing. There is so much to learn from our past even if it wasn't the brightest or the best.
But, KNOW this: You are Loved with an everlasting love that cannot be extinguished!!! Yes, YOU! Zephaniah 3:17 says: "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
Let that sink in for a few moments.....God delights in you. He rejoices over you. He sings over you!
Now, let me ask you a tough question: Can you imagine being an orphan? And, especially an Orphan of War from the 1950's??? I cannot. Being told by your grandfather that you are NOT wanted and then having your mom forced (in a sense) to "get rid of you!" Gone from the village you were born in, gone from the young mother who loved you, gone from having anyone to care for you. Gone.
This would be more than any little four year old heart can understand or fathom (Or, any 67 year old, for that matter, hearing the story for the very first time.)
Imagine yourself at four years old! Were you snuggled and held as a child? Did you have a roof over your head? Did you have food and water and even desserts or treats many days of your life? Did you have a soft warm bed with sheets and blankets that kept you warm in the winter time?
Well, now try to imagine the opposite. Imagine your mommy taking you to a train station in Korea at four years old, giving you a handkerchief with a pickle, an egg and a pad of cooked rice in it and telling you to be a good little girl and stay on the train all the way until it stops. At the end of the train ride there will be an "Uncle" who with pick you up and take care of you. Then, imagine a little further, when the train stops and there is NO ONE there for you. No one. No uncle. Not anyone who will care for you. No one.
Now imagine being half Korean and half British and not belonging to anyone. Could you fend for yourself at four years old? Could you find shelter, food, water, clothing, something to keep you warm at night? Could you ask for help and stand being turned down time and time and time again because you were a half breed? Imagine being spit on, beaten, tossed out, and treated as horribly as you can imagine. Then, remember, you are FOUR years old!
What a frightening journey this little girl had!!! Day and after day, she was treated horribly. Hungry, tired, and scared with NO place to go and no one to help you. Could you have survived? Stephanie's story is compelling and riveting. And, it is a miracle!!! Stephanie learned through many grueling and very tough situations to survive. Now, she is around 70 years old (she never knew her birth date!) and she is living in the United States. She survived to tell her story and what a journey it has been!!! She learned to THRIVE! And, she learned what many orphans never learn: LOVE. And, love from the ONE True God who brought her through so many twists and turns to tell this incredible story.
I truly hope you will look up her website at: www.stephaniefast.org or get her book to read! It is truly gut wrenching and yet amazing! Sad, but glorious!!!
What did I learn from Stephanie? That hope is never lost. A person can survive unmentionable things. A person can heal from very, very tragic occurrences in your past. And, a person can find God's love despite being treated very cruelly for the first 9 years of your life!
My prayer is that anyone reading this or passing it along to others, will find the Love of Jesus and put their trust in Him. He is waiting for you. He is mighty to save.
