WOW!  WHAT A SURPRISE!

"There are different kinds of gifts..."  I Corinthians 12:4

      One morning a few months after Audrey's death, I got up a little later than usual.  Hurrying to the front room I turned on the Christian TV program I watched each day.

      A man whom I had never seen before was saying, "If you want a gift from the Holy Spirit, just ask Him."

      The program ended and I sat there thinking, Hmmmm--I wonder what I should ask for?  Having trouble understanding the King James version of the Bible, I knelt down and prayed, "Holy Spirit, please give me the gift of knowledge."

      With great expectation, I waited for spectacular knowledge to flood my mind.  I waited and waited.  Nothing happened.  In disgust I stood up and shouted, "That big phony!"  I stomped out of the room.

      However, two mornings later, I awoke with poems dancing around in my head.  I jumped out of bed and hurried to write them down, first one and then another.  They were about God,  my grief, and Jesus.  Everything coming out of my mouth was in rhyme.

      When R.J. came home, I hardly spoke to him for fear he'd think I had really gone off the deep end.  He'd been giving me strange looks lately anyhow, accusing, "You sound like one of those Jesus freaks.  Good Lord, I wish you'd settle down a little."

      Before going to bed, I started to read my Bible, but I kept trying to read it in rhyme and it didn't make any sense.  In frustration I prayed, "Holy Spirit, thank You for this beautiful gift of writing poems.  But, could You please cool it down a bit? I can't go through life with everything coming out of my mouth in rhyme.  Thank You."

      Next morning when I woke up, I thought, ah, my brain is back to normal.  It was--for about two hours, then several more poems flooded my mind.

      I said to R.J., "God is in the process of healing my broken heart through these poems.  Not only that, but threaded throughout the poems there is knowledge about God."

      R.J. mumbled something from behind the newspaper and I gathered that he was annoyed with me again so I decided not to pursue the matter.

      My enthusiasm was not dampened in the least.  Since receiving this gift, I have shared the poems with many people, some of whom have lost loved ones.  They have written, or called, expressing their deep appreciation.

      I repented of calling that man of God a big phony.   I now know God does not always answer my prayers immediately or necessarily the way I think He should.  But this I know for sure, He listens to them and cares about every detail of our lives.  What a loving God!