Tag: miracles

Testimony- GOD REIGNS!

On By jillmhollingsworthLeave a comment

My youngest, Liam, turned 7 last month.

In January 2015, I dreamed I was pregnant with three boys. I had no idea then just how literal that dream would turn out to be!

My husband, Silas, and I decided to try to expand our family in 2017. Because we had had no trouble getting pregnant with our two older boys, we didn’t expect any issues. We were surprised when, month after month, the pregnancy tests were negative. I believed with all my heart that it would happen when the time was right, but that didn’t make the waiting any less disappointing.

In August 2018, we finally got a positive pregnancy test. I was so excited! But on September 6, I began spotting. I wasn’t too concerned at first. I had worked at a women’s clinic and knew that many women experienced spotting and went on to have completely healthy pregnancies.

As the spotting became heavier, though, my concern grew, and I scheduled an ultrasound.

That morning, as I was getting dressed, the words, “The Lord gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” came to mind. I remember hoping it wasn’t the Holy Spirit preparing me for what was to come.

When we got in the car, Silas spoke the exact same verse out loud, having no idea what I had been thinking just moments before.

God was gently preparing our hearts for the news that they could find no fetal pole.

The ultrasound was on a Friday, and I spent the next couple of days in bed grieving. We had tried for over a year to conceive, and now we had lost the precious life we had been so excited about.

The following Tuesday, I was scheduled to have a follow-up ultrasound to confirm the findings from Friday. Silas had several meetings at work, so I decided I would be fine to go alone. I had grieved all weekend. Surely I would be okay. But sitting alone in a waiting room surrounded by happy, pregnant women, I quickly realized I was wrong.

The tech called my name and took me back for the ultrasound. She soon confirmed that they still could not find a fetal pole. I felt the hot tears threatening to escape as the lump in my throat grew. Just as quickly as I had made my way into the room, I was whisked back out.

I sat down again in the waiting room and began chiding myself for being there alone. What was I thinking? I needed support and understanding, and I felt completely alone. Then my phone began to ring.

A woman from our church prayer team was calling. She had no idea I was pregnant. She didn’t know what we had found out on Friday, and she had no idea I had a doctor’s appointment that day. No one knew except Silas and me.

All she knew was that she couldn’t stop thinking about me that entire morning. So, finally, she picked up the phone to make sure I was okay. God’s timing was perfect.

Had she called a moment sooner, I would have been in the ultrasound. A few moments later, and I would have been called back to see the doctor. Had she called earlier that morning while I was driving, I wouldn’t yet have known the grief that was coming.

If God hadn’t done anything else that day, that phone call would have been more than enough for me to feel loved and seen by Him. But God is extravagant, and He takes such good care of His children.

I wouldn’t believe what happened next if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. I’ve only shared this part of the story with a handful of people over the years because it still blows my mind.

I drove the entire way home from the appointment in complete silence. I was hurting and just wanted quiet. About five minutes from home, completely out of nowhere, my radio turned on and began playing “The Desert Song” by Hillsong United.

My hands hadn’t moved from the steering wheel. I hadn’t touched any buttons. I have no explanation for it other than God. The song was exactly what I needed—a reminder that He was still God in the desert, in the fire, in the pain, and in the waiting. He was there. He was worthy of worship. And He would provide.

After the miscarriage, two different friends sent me the same verse at different times, completely unbeknownst to one another. It was the prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:10:

“Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’ And God granted what he asked.”

Then, on January 15, 2019, I found out I was pregnant again. This time, I couldn’t keep the secret. I ran to the bedroom and woke Silas in the wee hours of the morning.

Later that day, I texted my mentor, Kathie, to tell her. She wrote back that she was astounded and praising God for His impeccable timing. The moment she received my text, she happened to be meditating on Psalm 8:2:

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger.”

And now, seven years later, I look at this little boy and see a miraculous gift from God. The one whose story allowed me and my family to experience God in a powerful way. The one I pray God will continue to use for His glory.

Pain Precedes Purpose

On By jillmhollingsworth2 Comments

Peru 2

If you could choose just one thing to change about your life, what would it be? What causes you the most discomfort or pain? What tempts you towards apathy or discouragement?

Last week while in Pulcallpa, Peru, my husband met a man named Victor. Victor contracted polio as a small child and was left paralyzed from the waist down as a result. As he got older, he became painfully aware of how much he burdened his family, both socially and physically. The cultural norm was to shame families of those with disabilities, so for years Victor was hidden away in his room as much as possible. On top of the embarrassment, his daily care was a burden to a family that was already struggling to meet their very basic needs.

When Victor’s hopelessness about his situation became more than he could bear, he decided to take his own life. He wrote his family a note, left it under his pillow, and wheeled himself to a bridge with rushing water below. He figured that this was the most selfless thing he could do. Just as he was about to drive his wheelchair off the bridge, an acquaintance from the town drove by on a brand new motorcycle. The man asked Victor if he wanted a ride. Thinking it may be a great last thrill, Victor agreed to go.

Once the ride was over, Victor worried that someone may find his note before he had actually followed through with his plan. He rushed home, hid the note, and decided to try another day. Thankfully that day never came because he and his mother turned to God in prayer. One night his mom, full of emotion, earnestly begged God to heal her son’s paralysis. After the prayer, Victor’s feet began to tingle. Through the night, the tingling increased and spread to his legs. By the next day, he told his mom he needed to stand. Not believing that was possible, she reminded him that he was paralyzed and couldn’t get out of his wheelchair. But he was insistent that he needed to walk, so she reluctantly helped him up. From that day until now, Victor has walked on his own.

So what is Victor doing now? He has founded and directs The Refuge of Hope in Pulcallpa, Peru where he and a team serve abandoned and disabled children that are walking through the same trials he experienced. God used the many years of despair that he endured to give Victor a heart for this ministry. Now hundreds of children, once rejected and without hope, have found love and healing at this center.

There are many takeaways here, but two things I want to emphasize: 1) God will not waste our pain. 2) Our situation is never beyond His mighty hand.

Sometimes in the middle of a trial, we just need to be reminded that there is purpose in our hardship. God used the years that Victor was paralyzed to give him a heart for children with disabilities; this passion eventually led him to open The Refuge of Hope that has changed hundreds of lives and brought countless children to Christ. Maybe your pain is marriage difficulties. Maybe it’s a wayward child, loneliness, infertility, financial crisis, or work issues. Whatever it is, God will redeem our stories and use it for His glory. As impossible as that may seem right now, He is more than able.

Which brings me to my second point. Our trials are never beyond the hand of God. It may feel funny, but I’d encourage you to say it out loud: My trial is not beyond the hand of God. Doesn’t it feel great to speak in faith? Now, let’s really freak out the co-worker in the cube next to us or our little people at home by saying things like this out loud all day! When we pray, we aren’t talking at the air. We are petitioning a God that heals the sick, calls out demons, opens wombs, raises the dead, parts seas, and calms storms. And not just thousands of years ago. No, he does these things today. If you find that hard to believe, I’d encourage you to buy one of these books to boost your faith in a BIG God: The Heavenly Man, Living Water, Revolution in World Missions, and Miraculous Movements (just to name a few!). These books are filled with present-day testimonies of God’s miraculous hand throughout the world.

Be encouraged! You may be in the oven, but God has his hand on the temperature dial and the door. When you’re perfectly prepared for your next assignment, He will turn off the heat and direct you into your destiny. He sees you. He hears you. His hand is on you, and it’s mighty to save!