I have been extremely blessed to have my grandma Callie in my life as long as I have. She is a sweet, spunky 83 year old woman. It is a little ironic that this would be one of the blog topics, especially how much my grandma loves the stories of Elijah and Elisha (however, she is more of an Elijah fan, wink wink).
For as long as I can remember, my grandma always talked to me about God. She talked about Him in a way that you don't hear in most Sunday sermons. It was as if she literally WALKED with Him. She depended upon Him for everything and spent so many hours in prayer for us and for anyone else who needed it. My grandma lived a hard life growing up--abuse, neglect and poverty--among others. She married my grandpa when she was about 14 years old. Only able to attend school for one full year--3rd grade--she didn't read or write well. She had to help take care of the house and her siblings.
Flash forward--years later, she would give her heart and her life to Christ. She perfected her reading and writing skills by reading the Bible and, what we would call 'journaling' today, the Bible. She spent much time in her 'prayer closet'--her bedroom--drawing near to Him. Honestly? I learned more from what I SAW out of her then I ever did in what she said to me.
She would give her last bit of money to anyone--even now on a fixed income. She would go to the jails to minister to people. She would minister to you in Wal-Mart parking lot (wink wink)! Complete strangers stopping by her house got to hear the message of Christ too.
My grandma never lived what the world would term a 'rich' or 'fulfilling' life. She always had just enough money to get by no matter how much she gave to people. God took care of her every. single. need. And the stories she could tell of how He helped her. The relationship she has with Him. The unshakable faith she had in Him.
The 'greater' life for her? WALKING WITH GOD. He permeated every inch of her. She showed me that this is possible. One can have a true relationship with the Lord. Not just a mediocre walking into church on Sunday, waiting for the sweet by and by relationship. But one of constant dependence on and conversation with God. A life lived in love. A life of serving others. A life of complete surrender. And, that IF you trust God, greater things are possible--far greater than you ever imagined or asked for. They just may not look like what our perception, or the world's, of what greater truly is.
From Chapter 1, "Because the call to be greater is the call to walk with God Himself."~Pastor Steven Furtick.
