More and more the theology of God’s astonishing wonders has become autobiography for me. No longer am I the little crippled girl excluded from life. God moved me from the lonely sidelines to center stage for life experiences I never believed possible. On April 25th David and I flew to San Antonio, Texas where I spoke at a fundraiser for Becky’s Hope ministry (www.beckyshope.org). Max Lucado did the keynote speech and I followed him with the heart of the ministry talk. I wove my talk around Max Lucado’s children’s book The Crippled Lamb, the story of a lamb who was always left out because of a deformed leg. Don’t be sad little lamb, God has a special place for those who feel left out. This refrain encouraged him when the other sheep journeyed to far away places and he was left him out. But God’s wonders never cease: Thanks to his deformed leg the crippled lamb was center stage in the stable the night Jesus, the Lamb of God was born. The crippled lamb’s story is my story! That’s what I told the audience at the fundraiser. Being left out was the bane of my growing up years. Not just my bane but also the Becky of Becky’s Hope bane, due to her spina bifida. Yes, we both sat and watched our siblings have all the fun, BUT GOD. But God has a special place and big plans for those who feel left out. Thanks to our being left out , both Becky and I we were ushered in to a forever relationship with the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. And in Becky’s life, thanks to her disability, Becky and her Romanian-born parents are God’s instrument to spread the hope of Christ throughout Romania to moms with disabled children and adults. In Romania a heavy spirit of oppression keeps crippled lambs behind closed doors –a condition which the Opreans are changing through nearly a decade of Christian retreats. I was privileged to teach and minister with Becky’s Hope in Romanian towns in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Now I am privileged to share my life-changing, cliff-hanger experiences at their fundraisers here in America. This 2012 fundraiser was over the top! Experiencing Max Lucado up close was a thrill of a lifetime. His story-telling teaching style makes me want to be a wordsmith like Max when I grow up. Enjoying San Antonio’s annual fiesta and strolls/rolls along the River Walk, David and I were joined by my sister, Tina, and my niece, Christie. Like her Aunt Judy, Christie is a crippled lamb. Christie’s disability is blindness and she knows first hand how it feels to be left out. But now an adult, she’s a lamb you don’t want to leave behind, because even without vision she’s turned into the family’s GPS. She’s living proof of God’s power made perfect in human weakness.
What about You? In what arena do you find yourself repeatedly left out? Maybe you are like me – you feel you were born to lead life’s parade, but you find yourself velcroed to a seat on the sidelines. My advice to you: Don’t be sad, Little Lamb, look Who’s sitting beside you. It’s the God Who companions with us on the sidelines and in His time He gives us the spot we always longed for in life’s parade. Prepare yourself to be: Astonished! Astounded! For He is going to do something in your days— You would not believe if you were told.
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AuthorJUDY SQUIER has authored His Majesty in Brokenness, Living in the Names of God and the Living in the Names Bible Study. Husband David and she have three adult daughters, three sons-in-law and seven grandchildren. Never did Mr. and Mrs. Squier dream that their long-awaited golden wedding anniversary would coincide with David’s memorial service. Judy resides in southern Oregon, alone, yet not alone. Thanks to the Good Shepherd! Categories
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