This is the third and final blog post in my Lost & Found series! (If you missed the first two installments, you can find them here and here).

My heartfelt thanks to Susie Pederson whose beautiful story I’m sharing with you today. It’s a testament to how God often works in ways that we perceive as disappointing because we’re unable to comprehend the big picture. It’s a huge blessing when He gives us a peek at His plan!

“So this is a different type of lost and found story because I didn’t find what I lost, but something oh so much better. When I was eighteen, I was growing up as a missionary kid in a developing country. On a high school trip, a vehicle was robbed on the highway and my bag was stolen. As inconvenient as it was to now be on a week-long trip with no clothes but the ones I was wearing, the thing that devastated me the most was the loss of my Bible and prayer journal. The Bible had been a gift when my family left a different country several years prior and was very special to me. Two years earlier, my family had dealt with a home invasion/robbery and I came away from that praising God that my Bible wasn’t stolen because it was more precious than anything else.

So here I was at eighteen struggling with intense feelings of anger, betrayal, and hatred for the heartless crimes committed against me. I was hurt. I poured out my anger before the Lord, and He whispered to the darkest, most hurt, part of me: pray for them.

I didn’t want to. It felt impossible. Eventually, I began listening to that whisper and started praying for the people who stole my things, the people who felt that violence and theft were the best options, the people who left intangible scars on me.

Fast forward eleven years. As an adult, I was serving in the same country with the same mission organization my parents served with. I went on a trip deep into the jungle with some colleagues.

We traveled from village to village by small boat assessing literacy in the region. One pastor and his wife hosted our group. For the entire trip, we had been traveling through rain and mud, dealing with unsavory creatures and I was struggling in a lot of ways emotionally.

As we sat on the bamboo floor of our host in this remote village, he shared a story of how more than ten years ago he had been a part of a group of young men who stole from others. One time they got a bag that had a Bible and a journal in it. He read them and they changed his heart. He trusted Christ and continued to study scripture. He felt God calling him to return to his home village to minister to the youth and help keep them off the path he had taken.

Sitting on that rough-hewn floor, the room barely lit by one small lantern, tears rolled down my cheeks as I felt God’s whisper again: I can do more than you can imagine. This is just a small taste. Be faithful. Keep praying. Believe big. Trust me.

That three-week trip changed my life in so many ways. I served in the country for seven years and saw miracle after miracle. God has no limitations. His love knows no bounds. He can use the most broken individuals to accomplish His purpose. He cares for the people we hate and loves us enough to help us love them too. He is always present and always enough.

My faith will never be the same.” -Susie Pederson

How has God encouraged you lately? Has He given you a peek at how He’s at work?

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Becky Wade

Author at Bethany House

Becky makes her home in Dallas, Texas with her husband and three children. She absolutely loves writing funny, heartwarming, and inspirational contemporary Christian romance.

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