WE’RE HERE FOR YOU

This took place during one of the busiest phases of my work life. Weekends have always been filled with lots of commitments. In between commitments I lost my wallet on a Saturday around 9:45am, only 850 meters away from home with all my cards and cash in it. Ten minutes later I realised that my wallet was not with me. Driving back to where I would have dropped my wallet I cried and asked God – “Why? Where have I gone wrong? What are you telling me?” I reached out to my siblings for prayer of forgiveness. We prayed, “Lord, with every mistake we make, you help us learn. Please let the wallet be returned. We thank you for your Word that tells us You are faithful; that you will never put us in situations beyond what we can bear. Amen.” I hoped a Good Samaritan would drop the wallet off at my door, from looking at the address on my driving license. I disabled a few of my cards and arranged for replacement ones. At the church the next day (Sunday) I received prayers from a couple of friends and instruction that I should report it to police station. Sunday passed, and by Monday, I thought someone had found the wallet, kept the cash and was not going to return it. That same day at 6:43 pm, I received a call from the police informing me that my wallet had been returned to them. The police in charge brought the wallet out, I found all of the cards and cash intact inside. I praised God. What is to be learned here? • Pleasant and unpleasant things happen to everyone. • I am reminded that I am a child of God. I have an option to believe Jesus can rescue me and wants to. He restores what is lost. I just need to cry out to Him. • If I lose something, He knows exactly what happened to it. He sees it and knows how to lead me to it, or how to get it back to me. • All I have to do is ask Him and trust Him, also pray with others. • I am more encouraged and more empowered now to keep on going with what God has given me to do for this phase. I am very thankful that He keeps me well. All glory to my loving heavenly Father God for He is good.

N

I used to think that if only I had this or that, or went here or there, I’d be happy. I’d find the thing that was missing, and I’d be happy or complete, and at last it would be enough. So I got this and that, and I went here and there, and it wasn’t enough. People along the way told me about Jesus, and I rejected them all. Then one day I found out that even though I’d rejected Him, He hadn’t rejected me. I said sorry to Him, I said please help me and I said thank you for never giving up on me. And now I have that hole inside filled, and I’m complete.

M

I arrived at Oaktree when domestic violence left me a single mum and I was fighting every day to keep my child free from harm. I was wary of churches because past experiences had made me uncomfortable, but at Oaktree I felt welcomed without being put under any pressure. People offered to help pray for me, without judgment, and Sunday worship became a safe place for me to hand my worries over to the Lord. As I continue to pray for protection and guidance, God keeps delivering more than I ever asked for: protective court orders, a secure place to live, education and income. My child adores the familiarity of the church community and is secure in knowing the love of our Heavenly Father, which is the best gift one could give their child.

J

About 18 months ago, we sensed the Lord’s clear leading to relocate from the Eastern suburbs and start attending Oaktree. This required us to prepare our home in readiness for sale. Finally, our home was almost ready for the market... except for our family room. As I stood in the middle of the room I announced, “what this room needs is one more picture to put on that wall, it needs to be burgundy ... and green ... with some gold on it”. I smiled and thought to myself how specific that was. Then I picked up the keys to drive to the other side of Melbourne to see a friend. As I drove along, suddenly I heard an inner voice “turn right at the next corner.” As I did, I heard the voice again “turn left at the next corner” and then finally “now turn right at the second street”. As I did all this, I began to wonder to myself “Carolyn, what are you doing? Where are you going... you are getting yourself so lost and way off track” (something confirmed by Siri!). As I drove slowly down the street in a slightly bewildered state, I suddenly spotted something on someone’s nature strip. As I drove closer, I saw it w¬¬as a picture leaning against a tree. I sat in the car ... and just stared – it was burgundy, green and gold. I was speechless... but finally said “Lord, are you serious ... this is amazing ... YOU are amazing!!” I was so overwhelmed and so touched by the Lord’s provision. As there were two empty cans of paint next to the picture, I knew the picture was for anyone who wanted it. When I got home, I hung it up on the wall, it was in perfect condition, perfect size, perfect colours and a perfect match for the room. This testimony is another example of the Lord’s goodness, and how He cares about all the details of our lives. There have been many other confirmations and blessings on our journey to relocate. God is a good Father. He loves to surprise us in so many delightful ways. It’s wonderful to do life with Him!

CC

In late 2018 when I met a friend for lunch, we had to cross a busy road. I'm always very cautious and careful when crossing but my friend crossed the road and I decided to run after her. However, in doing so I tripped and fell in front of the oncoming traffic. I knew that I had no chance to get out of the way of the cars and instead of jumping up, I lay in the middle of the road, waiting to be hit by several cars. Lying there, I was completely at peace. My friend returned to me and helped me up. I looked around and expected to see the cars almost on top of me. But no - the cars were all pretty much where they were when I began crossing the road and fell. It was as if time stood still. Apart from a few minor bruises, I sustained no injuries. I missed hitting my head by just a few centimetres. Praise God!

CD