Time of acceptance...

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelations 3:20

Yesterday our church celebrated All Saints’ Sunday. It prompted me to know I had to blog about something that on one hand I do want to blog about and on another I’m very nervous about it.

We were asked to call out the names of Saints that were close to us and had moved on to be with God. I didn’t, but calling out my Dad’s name was on the tip of my tongue. I thought about all my family members who have passed away and I wonder. All wonderful people, God’s chosen ones. But what I am going to blog about is my Dad.

Dad had a stroke and was in a coma for fifteen days before he died. I was there (in California) for I believe it was ten days and then came home to North Carolina for a few and back again. During the time he was in the hospital there were many, and I mean many, visitors. My Dad was very much loved by not only family, but by co-workers and of course his friends.

Like I mentioned, he was in a coma… he was in ICU and because of that only a few people could be in the room with him at one time. One person that came to see Dad just about every day was Juan. Juan was the janitor for the company my Dad worked for. Dad was the Executive VP of the company… like I said he was much loved, and respected, by all there. There were quite a few times I was in the room when Juan was in visiting. Juan understands English quite well, but doesn’t speak it much. He would walk from one side of my Dad’s hospital bed to the other praying in Spanish. I frequently heard him say Jesus’ name in the prayers. Every once in a while we would see slight movement in Dad’s hands or feet. The doctors said it was like a muscle twitch or something, of course I wanted to think it was responses to what he was hearing and feeling. Those movements weren’t very often except for when Juan was in with him praying. Now I wasn’t Christian and of course my Dad was Jewish… so I used to think to myself that Dad was probably freaking out at all the talk about Jesus. I know I mentioned to many people that it was amazing what a reaction Dad was having to Juan being in the room and praying over him. I liked when Juan was there cuz it gave me some hope that my Dad was hearing us.

Now fast forward to about a year and a half ago… I think it was actually in the late winter or early spring of 2009. I’m sitting in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship)… it’s after we had the small group discussion and we were listening to the lecture. The lecture had nothing to do with anything that was reminding me of my Dad. The voice of God, that I mentioned in an earlier blog, spoke to me and said, “Your Dad got it and I want you to know that.” I was puzzled and wondered what that was about… then I got more information. When Juan was praying over my Dad and talking to him and freely sharing our Lord with him, my Dad got it. I was told that he accepted Jesus before he died.

I didn’t know what to do with this. All I knew was it wasn’t something I thought up and it came out of nowhere. We walked out and I was kind of scared to mention it to anyone… but then again, how could I not? My group leader was walking next to me and I told her what had just happened and how bewildered I felt. She listened and cried… she was full of joy and so touched by what I had just told her. And amazingly to me she didn’t doubt me. Because of her reaction I have been able to share this story with a few other people. And now I’m branching out and sharing it on a much larger scale.

I want my family who reads this to know that I don’t think for one moment Dad gave up being Jewish. Like me, we are always going to be Jewish. We just came to know Jesus as the Son of God, sent to earth to die on the cross for us so that we may have eternal life. And I am so happy to know that my Dad is there and that it’s never ever too late to accept Jesus into your life.

~Lord, I pray that one day every heart will be open to accepting you and letting you in. I know it’s never too late and can happen at the time of death… but it would be wonderful to have us walk the walk of knowing you together while we are here on earth… so that is my prayer for today. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.~