GPBC Blog

By Joanie Nutter--

This past year God got my full attention and answered the cry of my heart, which is to have opportunity to share my faith in a practical way with those He reveals to me.  

In January we were able to respond to the need of a young woman who was in a difficult situation and invited her to come live with us. She was with us for 5 1/2 months and during that time I had a captive audience….to love, encourage and share the Gospel.  Needless to say, we all dealt with fear on some level, but my young friend was more fearful than most. I used this time to dig into the Word day and night through the app “Daily Audio Bible”. I loved that I was able to feed on His Word day and night, pray along with others around the world and be ready to encourage my friend every day. We painted, made bird houses, sewed quilts, listened to edifying music, did wood burning, cooked good food, traveled, and talked deeply about what it means to walk with Jesus. She and I continue to meet and share.

Another opportunity came in October when I began visits to a Physical Therapist twice a week. I was feeling particularly broken from all that had transpired over the summer. I had a good cry telling God I knew He was all powerful, I knew He was on the throne and in control, I knew His plans for the lost hadn’t changed, and I knew people were hurting, but I simply didn’t know where I could find these souls, since I was only going to the grocery store and to the therapist. Well, in a quiet moment, He seemed to open my eyes to the fact that I was out getting physical therapy twice a week, so how about I start there.  Hmmm. Lee (the Physical Therapist) and I had been meeting for almost two weeks and I enjoyed our conversations, but with my ‘natural eyes’ I saw him as competent, educated, and without need; however, my ‘spiritual eyes’ knew better. OK, God, I’ll join you. But, I begged Him to show me how to start a conversation. It helped knowing that God is the God of invitation, so I need to be a person of invitation.  

Boy, do I pray at times like this. I started by asking Lee, ‘tell me about your spiritual journey’. And, he did! We talked for 25 minutes, and I got to ask lots of questions, getting to know him, trying to understand his journey. He was raised Lutheran, is not a Buddhist but follows many of their teachings. I asked how he deals with the problem of sin, shared how Christ is superior, etc. Nothing too confrontational but sharing the facts. I prayed for him daily. Although our visits had ended by December, I took him a gift at Christmas and again invited him to consider getting to know more about Jesus. I began seeing Lee again for therapy in late winter and found he had begun redoing his yard, so I offered free plants and a tour of my garden. He has come to our home several times, stayed for long visits, met Mark and to my surprise, invited us to his home for dinner. So, the story continues and I’m praying about the next conversation.

The third answer to prayer is that God has opened a door to meet with a woman who is a very strong and sincere Mormon. I’ve been praying for her for nearly 38 years. She came to my home in early spring to buy some watercolor cards. She has always longed to learn watercolor, even purchased $200 in supplies, went to a class four times and quit. No! I said bring all your supplies over and I’ll help you get started. We have been painting every other week for four months and have become very close. God has put this incredible love in my heart for her and in mid-June she threw her arms around me (full-on awkward body hug, hah!) and told me, “You don’t have any idea what this really means to me.” I’m beginning to see a little of how God is working in this and have great hope that one day she will surrender to the Biblical Jesus, who is full of grace and mercy.

I thank God for answering my prayers, revealing to me where I can share my faith and for giving me courage and boldness to speak on His behalf.