"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)Twelve years ago, I prayed for something that altered the course of my life.
When Grace and I received an invitation to go on a third short-term missions trip to Taiwan, I asked the Lord for two things. First, I asked that Faith would be able to go along. She was only 13 at the time, too young to join the team. Still, I wanted her to experience it with us. Even though our appeal on her behalf had already been denied, for some strange reason, I asked God anyway to make a way for her to go. Secondly, Dad had been paying our previous trips out of his retirement fund. I realized this method wasn't going to work forever, so I asked the Lord to provide for our trip some other way.
The Lord answered my prayer a month later when IBLP asked our entire family to help start their Taiwan office. It was not the answer I wanted, but I knew He had answered loud and clear.
Leaving America was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I can now see how it was a critical turning point in my life.
A few months ago, the Lord had me pray for something else that altered the course of my life.
On Friday, May 11, my parents spoke to our church singles group about love and marriage. Dad opened that night with Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." As he read, the Lord singled me out and said, "Karen, I want you to ask Me to show you something."
That night, upon returning to my room, I thought through the day's events and said, "OK, Lord, You told me to ask, so...I'm asking. Show me something great that I don't know."
That night, I dreamt that Luke Kallberg was interested in me.
I woke up the next morning thinking, "Wow--too much talk about love and relationships." I brushed off the dream and went on with my very single life.
Monday morning, however, Dad called me into his office. As I sat down, he said, "I wasn't going to tell you this, but I think you need to know that Luke Kallberg called two weeks ago to ask to court you."
"Oh no..." My mind reeled with the ramifications of this news. For the past two months, I had been praying that Luke could help us with VOICE. We needed him. Now he was ruining my perfect plans.
I managed to tell Dad I'd pray about how to respond and returned to my desk. As I tried focusing my attention toward the computer, I prayed, "God, how am I going to tell him no?"
The Lord responded, "Why are you going to tell him no?"
Confused, I replied, "Uhhh, because he's Luke Kallberg?"
"Karen, you asked Me for this."
"Lord, I did not ask You for Luke Kallberg."
All day, I argued with the Lord. By the time I went to bed, I thought I was losing my mind, and so I prayed, "Lord, if You're serious about this, could You please show me in Your Word?"
The next morning, I woke up, wondering if it had all been a dream. So I turned to the next chapter of Isaiah, and in Isaiah 33:2, I read, "O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You."
So the Lord said to me, "Karen, I know you've been waiting all your life for the right person. Luke has also been waiting a long time. I am being gracious to both of you."
"This can't be right," I thought. "I must be reading into the Bible today. I think I'll read the Psalms instead."
So I turned to the next Psalm on my schedule--Psalm 128:
"Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!"
"Lord," I protested, "You are not allowed to gang up with Luke Kallberg against me!"
The Lord responded, "Karen, for years you saw Luke through other people's eyes. I want you to see him from My perspective. He fears Me, I will bless him, and I want you to be a part of that blessing to him."
I was stunned. For the next three days, I pondered what the Lord had shown me. I thought through the qualities I appreciated about Luke. As the list grew, I began to realize that even though I had never made a "wish list," the Lord had heard every fleeting desire of my heart and fulfilled them in Luke. After three days, I had no more room to doubt, so I told Dad that the Lord was directing me to give Luke a fighting chance.
I've been falling in love ever since.
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For photos of my camping trip out West with his family, click here (Picasa) or here (Facebook).
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Soul Lemonade, No. 23
Taipei, Taiwan
