One of the greatest evidences of the reality of Christ is in lives he's changed. Take for example my talk with Billee.
“So you’re going to
get married soon?”
Billee laughed, “No, I already did, two months ago.”
“Oh, my bad. Congratulations!”
“It was a beautiful day. But you know, it takes a lot of
adjustments,” she said.
“It does,” I said, “You have to be willing to bend for the
other one.” (I decided I was going to help Billee.)
I’d seen her many times at this weekly Christian hot dog
stand at a coffeehouse. Most of the folks who came were on disability, ex-druggies
and drunks, pregnant or troubled teenagers, people with broken families, and deep
emotional needs. Billee appeared somewhat different. Though weather beaten, she
dressed well and drove a nice car.
Billee talked about her new husband, Joe. “Today was pretty
challenging. But he apologized to me for being a little testy.” I could tell
they were serious about making this marriage work.
As others waited for hot dogs, she began to tell me her
story.
“I was raised in a
Christian home, but I went away from it.”
As a young girl her parents split up and she was raised by
her Uncle and Aunt. From age 8, her uncle began molesting her. This continued
for eight years. “We would go to church. He would ask forgiveness, and then he
would molest me again.”
She ended up getting married for the first time at age 16.
On the night before her marriage, at 2 a.m., - her uncle molested her. Twelve
hours later Billee was walking down the aisle.
The marriage failed. So did number two. “Number one and two
should not have happened. I was too young.” She descended into drugs, drinking,
addictions, and finally got married for the third time. Number 3 eventually became
a Christian. He tried to convince Billee it was the way to go. She would have
none of it.
No wonder.
Number 3 got cancer, fought it for five years, and then
died. Then Billee got cancer. She’s been in and out of treatment four times. “I’ve
been cancer free for a year,” the 48 year old told me.
Before number 3 died, a couple visited the apartments that he
and Billee managed. Tim and Sarah were looking for a woman who had visited
their church. They met Billee. They befriended her. Slowly they built a
relationship.
“I resisted them and bad-mouthed them at first.” she said.
Through
the death of her husband, cancer, and revelation of her painful past, they
stuck with Billee. She came to faith. “No
one ever helped me like Tim and Sarah did. They pointed me to Jesus. He loves
me. He saved me.”
Still wanting to help her, I asked, “Why don’t you go to a church closer to where you and Joe
live?”
“This is my church. I could never leave this church.”
I walked away from Billee realizing she had helped me. She has been changed.
