Living and Hearing

The first week of September ended up being a doozy of a week for us. We had received our Jeep back with a new transmission. We spent two days driving halfway across the United States from San Diego to Colorado Springs, arriving at about 3 a.m. that Saturday morning. We attended a baby shower and a director promotion celebration for two really great friends of mine. We had been attempting to catch up on a month of mail, chores, house cleaning, and life in general. Monday morning at 2 a.m. I heard God's voice audibly for the first time. Yes, you read that right. I'll come back to that story in a minute. And one evening, we spent well over two hours on the phone with family in Costa Rica. A new crisis had hit.  Thankfully, it has been (for the most part) resolved since then.

So, it'd been a rather full week, to say the least. At least it's been a balance between really great things and bad stuff. But I never managed to post this story, and I really wanted to!

How are we doing? We're doing pretty well. Alejandro has officially quit job-searching (I don't remember if I'd shared that with you all) and he is devoting his energy to lining up handyman jobs rather than filling out applications. It's proving to be more successful and more profitable. Do you need anything fixed, painted, dry-walled, built, rebuilt, remodeled... etc? If so, he does a really great job! Yeah, I know I'm biased. But still, call him.

My business is doing very well and I'm really excited about the women God is putting in my path!  I am so blessed!

So, back to the hearing God's voice audibly story... that Monday night we went to bed in a bit of a tiff (ok fine) fight. Alejandro was downstairs cooling off, and I was in bed, praying and tweeting and reading blogs from my phone, which is a common way I wind down before bed. About 45 minutes after falling asleep, I had a "Samuel experience."

Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.
(See 1 Samuel 3:1-10)

I was laying there, asleep, and I awoke with a start when I heard (what sounded like) Alejandro's voice call, "Renee!" 

I sat up and called toward Alejandro, who had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs.  "Ale?!"

No answer.

"Was that you God?"

"What do you think?"

I got up and went downstairs.  "Ale, did you call me?"  He moaned and groaned and rolled over.  He was clearly not awake.  "Ale, did you call me!?" I said louder?  "No....." he mumbled. 

I went back to bed.  Another hour later, I woke up again, as if someone had shaken me, although I didn't feel anything.  I rolled back over, irritated that I couldn't sleep at 1 a.m. and I'd been woken up again. 

Another hour later, I woke up with a jump, as if someone had shoved me in the arm, although I still didn't feel anything.

"What?!" I said silently to God.

"GO down there and minister to your husband!!"

"Ugh, fine," I said. 

Yeah, I tend to argue with God.  It's not really something I'd recommend you do.  But at least I know I have authentic conversation with Him.  My prayers are defnitely  not filled with thees and thous and all that.  I talk to him like I talk on this blog. 

I went downstairs, and sat down next to Alejandro with my hand on his shoulder.  He had had a nightmare, and we spent the next hour or so in one of the deepest, most vulnerable conversations we've had in our almost-seven years of marriage. 

I'm really glad I listened to God in those wee morning hours. 

And a really humbled and awed that He'd call me by name and let me hear it. 

The experience was a deeply impacting one.  Yet not totally life-altering, as one might think.  It's like there is a quiet surety in my soul that brings peace beyond what is reasonable and a deeply rooted confidence (despite the fact that some of you now think I am completely whacky).  Do you know that God is alive?  Do you know that He still speaks?  If not, that is my prayer for you tonight. 

Love,