Going Bananas
I know it's been a couple of weeks since I posted last, but that doesn't mean good things haven't been happening!
Usually I write small snippets about positive stories I've found elsewhere on the Web, but today I wanted to share a few good things that have been going on in my own life recently.
My little family unit has had a visitor from Bethel Church in California staying with us the past week. April came to our area of Japan with about fifteen others to bless people here (and I think I was one of the most encouraged).
The Bethel team saw many miraculous healings and people set free from mental and spiritual bondage. If that isn't good news, I don't know what is! April prayed for a woman who actually hadn't been able to hold her own eyes open (due to a muscular-atrophying disease), and after the prayer, the lady was ecstatic to be able to see through eyes held open by healed muscles.
One night the group went to downtown Osaka to walk around and pray for people on the streets. April plus two others were in a small separate group, and they met a guy skateboarding by himself. April prayed for words to build him up and encourage him, and what came out of her mouth was exactly what he needed to hear. His face lit up in surprise that she knew what he was thinking and feeling. Only the true God can do such miracles as these.
Personally, I saw God today at the supermarket (which is something April prayed over me before she left - another miracle in itself - and she also prayed we would meet angels). Have you ever cried at a produce stand? No, I haven't either - until today.
Matthew, my one-year-old son, and I were out on a walk, and after we stopped at the post office to pay some bills (which is what you do in Japan), I stopped at the Co-op grocery store to pick up a few things. The lobby of the store has a few small shops: a flower shop, small cafe, and vegie and fruit stands. I was in line at the fruit stand to buy some strawberries and lemons, and the elderly man paying for his things at the counter kept looking at Matthew and telling me how cute he was.
This man was full of contrasts: His face was all smiles and his eyes crinkled when he talked, but his clothes told another story. He wore plastic flip-flops (though it's really cold today) and dirty worn-out jacket and trousers.
While I was paying, I turned around and noticed the stroller-bound Matthew was holding some bananas, which I thought maybe he had pulled off the shelf, but the banana section was farther away than Matthew's little arms. The old man told me he loves children and wanted to get the fruit for Matthew. Before I knew what he was doing, he quickly paid the lady at the register and was out the door before I could properly thank him. He must not have even waited for a receipt, it was all so fast (he was mighty spry for such an old guy). I just stood staring after him, with tears in my eyes. I should have been buying his food for him, but instead, I was blessed with a beautiful gift!
Was he an angel? I'll probably never know, but that incident certainly pulled me out of my self-contained reverie and focused my eyes on God in a way they haven't been focused in a while.
You know what else is strange about all this? Up to now Matthew hasn't even liked bananas, but he gobbled some up at lunch today after we got home.
Truth is stranger (and better) than fiction.
Usually I write small snippets about positive stories I've found elsewhere on the Web, but today I wanted to share a few good things that have been going on in my own life recently.
My little family unit has had a visitor from Bethel Church in California staying with us the past week. April came to our area of Japan with about fifteen others to bless people here (and I think I was one of the most encouraged).
The Bethel team saw many miraculous healings and people set free from mental and spiritual bondage. If that isn't good news, I don't know what is! April prayed for a woman who actually hadn't been able to hold her own eyes open (due to a muscular-atrophying disease), and after the prayer, the lady was ecstatic to be able to see through eyes held open by healed muscles.
One night the group went to downtown Osaka to walk around and pray for people on the streets. April plus two others were in a small separate group, and they met a guy skateboarding by himself. April prayed for words to build him up and encourage him, and what came out of her mouth was exactly what he needed to hear. His face lit up in surprise that she knew what he was thinking and feeling. Only the true God can do such miracles as these.
Personally, I saw God today at the supermarket (which is something April prayed over me before she left - another miracle in itself - and she also prayed we would meet angels). Have you ever cried at a produce stand? No, I haven't either - until today.
Matthew, my one-year-old son, and I were out on a walk, and after we stopped at the post office to pay some bills (which is what you do in Japan), I stopped at the Co-op grocery store to pick up a few things. The lobby of the store has a few small shops: a flower shop, small cafe, and vegie and fruit stands. I was in line at the fruit stand to buy some strawberries and lemons, and the elderly man paying for his things at the counter kept looking at Matthew and telling me how cute he was.
This man was full of contrasts: His face was all smiles and his eyes crinkled when he talked, but his clothes told another story. He wore plastic flip-flops (though it's really cold today) and dirty worn-out jacket and trousers.
While I was paying, I turned around and noticed the stroller-bound Matthew was holding some bananas, which I thought maybe he had pulled off the shelf, but the banana section was farther away than Matthew's little arms. The old man told me he loves children and wanted to get the fruit for Matthew. Before I knew what he was doing, he quickly paid the lady at the register and was out the door before I could properly thank him. He must not have even waited for a receipt, it was all so fast (he was mighty spry for such an old guy). I just stood staring after him, with tears in my eyes. I should have been buying his food for him, but instead, I was blessed with a beautiful gift!
Was he an angel? I'll probably never know, but that incident certainly pulled me out of my self-contained reverie and focused my eyes on God in a way they haven't been focused in a while.
You know what else is strange about all this? Up to now Matthew hasn't even liked bananas, but he gobbled some up at lunch today after we got home.
Truth is stranger (and better) than fiction.
posted by Abigail (aka Mamatouille) at
2:43 PM
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