Altars in Obscurity

When one writes a testimony, the desire sometimes occurs to make oneself look better than he or she is. In With Great Mercy, I don’t look too good. I was often without hope. I was sick, and quite often I was very frightened. The truth offers no choice. To tell about God’s mercy, I have to also tell about how much I needed it. Although I am completely healed of trigeminal neuralgia through God’s divine touch, I still need His mercy just as much as I did when I was ill.

How does an individual emerge from social isolation? A few months ago, I thought I was going to begin a part-time internship for my master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. I began the internship at which I was able to set my own hours. What a blessing. Not many agencies would allow this, but it is especially important to me because I still have quite a bit of fatigue.

I ventured from my home to go to the church twice a week. My hair was done; I had cosmetics on; my teeth were brushed. This might not sound like a big accomplishment, but for someone who could not accomplish these tasks because of the pain they once caused, I was making great progress. Thank You, Lord! Things were going just great. Then I realized the church had not advertised to the congregation that the services were available. A few people knew I was there, but most of them did not know why.

I am back home again. I am looking and waiting for another internship opportunity. Most of all, I am waiting for a breakthrough regarding With Great Mercy. My publisher has a book distributor. Part of the contract is that I purchase a quantity of books to sell on my own. Most of my portion is still here, stacked in boxes in my guestroom.

The message of God’s mercy waits to be held in the hands of humans. Just as these books are not touched, they do not touch anyone. Waiting is not easy. Through prayer, I was healed. Through prayer, the book was published. Through prayer, God gives me the ability to wait. Through prayer, His will shall be accomplished.

Each book is an altar. It represents obedience. It represents a sacrifice, and it contains my praises. I wrote it when I was too ill to concentrate, too ill to groom myself, too ill to communicate with others. Although it is my story, a story about how God’s mercy rescued me from the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus is the main character. God is the focus of the book.

My prayer is that these books will be placed in the hands of those who need a guide through their own pain. Their hands will touch the books, and the message of God’s mercy will touch their hearts.