Suddenly Turns

The Journey

Isaiah 11:15 CJV

Many of us remember the passages in scripture where God dried the Red Sea so His people could cross (Exodus 14-15).

I remember watching Carlton Heston as Moses on television leading the people of God out of Israel in the 1956 version of The Ten Commandments. I was very young when it first came out in 1956 but I remember (probably later) being fascinated by the parting of the Red Sea.  You have to remember we didn’t really have super heroes then. Mighty Mouse or Superman was the closest thing we had to a superhero and I knew they weren’t real because I was told they weren’t real (probably by my older brother).

I was also told the movie The Ten Commandments was from the Bible so I knew it was real.

I watched the Moses movie every time it was on television.

The original screen of our ‘latest and greatest’ television was very small (around 20 inches) but we thought modern television was a miracle. I might also note everything was in black and white. As I recall my dad bought a new television every seven years so our first color television would probably been purchased in the early 1960’s.

Irregardless of the color I remember being fascinated that God was so powerful He could dry up an entire section of a sea.

I mean…who can do that?

I studied Exodus 14-15 in Sunday school and I saw pictures of Moses holding the staff, but seeing it in motion on my own television set was mesmerizing.

From that point on I knew God could do anything.

I knew God was more powerful than Superman (because my dad said so).

I knew God could do anything He set his mind to doing!

Because I knew God could do anything that was for our good, I approached life and faith from that perspective. I just knew God was good and would bring good to me and my family.

I also knew (because my dad told me) that while God can do anything, because God loves us there is a good plan for us.

And so went my life…I married, had three children and then early in my fourth pregnancy I miscarried the child. I grieved the loss but after a while I was once again expecting a child. All was right with the world.

We moved from church to church over the years, the children grew and we met many many wonderful people along the way.

Then just after the turn of the century with three children grown life took what I thought was a sudden turn. Right before my eyes everything fell apart. I Don’t remember how it started but before I knew it my life was on a downhill slide.

I did what I”d been taught to do by me dad…I prayed and I asked God to intervene and heal what was broken. I was told later that I am extremely naive (by psychologists) and it’s possible that’s why I missed seeing the signs that things were falling apart. I prayed and prayed that God would give my family a Red Sea miracle.

Isaiah 11:15 described what God can do, “Adonai will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian Sea. He will shake his hand over the [Euphrates] River to bring a scorching wind, dividing it into seven streams and enabling people to cross dryshod.”

In a matter of a few months I lost everything except my old car.

Suddenly there was no marriage, no ministry, and no double income.

I had two years of college but no degree. Every penny had been spent on his education. My Mother paid for his doctorate degree.

I was crushed and confused. To make matters worse I had inherited thousands from my grandmother and that went toward the brand new house we lost when we divorced, I had no savings and no college degree.

Then God kicked in.  I found an old condo where I could live and I took a job where i’s been working that was a step up.

For a while I was confused why God did not answer my prayers. I felt like all of my losses were for naught.

I was wrong.

It took time but God did not forget me. Little by little God revealed the new me. As it turned out, I really liked my new life. The new me was funny and laughter became a defining part of who I am at the core.

Deborah

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