I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord orchestrates events to accomplish his purposes!  Take our salvation experiences, for example.  It might seem at the time that people come into and out of our lives at random, yet in retrospect we can see how God has used people and events in most deliberate ways to lead us to Him.

Both Jesus and Paul speak about this process in “gardening” terms and explain how some people are called to “plant,” others to “water,” and finally some to “harvest” in leading the lost to Christ.  (John 4:34-38, 1 Cor. 3;5-9)

Never have I seen this process demonstrated more clearly, though, than in the life of Holly, a young woman who recently graduated from Capstone Recovery Center, a transition house for women whose lives have been destroyed by substance abuse.

A beautiful, bright, talented young woman, Holly grew up in a home with loving parents.  An excellent student, she “followed the rules” and never got in trouble until she reached college age.  Like many college students, though, she joined the party scene; and one night headed home from a night of partying, she was stopped and charged with a d.u.i.  She was 20 years old and had always done the “right” thing, but that one decision would have devastating consequences.

Overcome with shame and guilt, she continued with her substance abuse and eventually dropped out of college—just short of graduation.  She and her boyfriend moved to Colorado in search of a new life.  Because of a legitimate injury, he was prescribed pain pills which she began to take and abuse.  The relationship soured, and she came back to North Carolina where she continued her out-of-control lifestyle only to find out in a routine medical exam that she was 24 weeks pregnant.

Her drug use stopped until after the birth of her “miracle baby”—a healthy little boy.  Sadly, though, she returned to the drug scene shortly after his birth, and life again spiraled downward.

Finally, her parents did what most parents would never have the courage to do:  They had her arrested.   Their decision, though difficult to make, set her on a positive course that would change her life for eternity.

Unknown to Holly, she had been walking all her life in the Lord’s prevenient grace– the grace given by God that precedes the act of a sinner’s exercising saving faith in Jesus Christ.  She was now to have the opportunity to meet Him face to face—but in most unpleasant circumstances.

While she spent two months behind bars, she met three women—Pam, Donna, and Teresa–who came each week to the jail to minister to the inmates.  Her first reaction, according to them, was almost belligerent rejection.  Week after week they came and witnessed to the women in her cell block.  Gradually her attitude changed—she was experiencing God’s wooing–and she began first to listen and then to participate in Bible study.  They saw her begin to move from darkness to light.  These selfless ministers were planting “seeds” into Holly’s life that were beginning to take root.

When Holly left jail, she needed to go to rehab; and her friends from the jail ministry helped her find a short-term safe house—Solus Christus.  At Solus she met two other women, Lauren and Jane, who, in effect, “watered.”   A staff member at Solus, Lauren took Holly to Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-based 12 step ministry for people struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups.  At one of the CR meetings, Holly was powerfully drawn to the Lord Jesus and accepted him as her Savior.  In other words, she experienced the Lord’s justifying grace, and those who led her to Him participated in the “harvest.”

The staff at Solus then helped Holly find a long-term rehab facility– Capstone Recovery Center, a 7-month in-patient, Christ-based recovery house.  At Capstone, Holly experienced the love and encouragement of Miriam Ramirez, Capstone’s director, and Dr. Oscar Ramirez, the Director of Counseling.   Through the efforts of many volunteers at Capstone, Holly grew from spiritual infancy toward greater spiritual maturity in her walk with the Lord.  Her new faith blossomed as she had time to study the Scriptures and become well-grounded in the Word.  She was now experiencing the Lord’s “sanctifying grace!”

A fitness enthusiast and a runner, she began again to enter races.  Her mind, body, and spirit began to heal simultaneously.  Her favorite verse became Hebrews 12:1:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

What an amazing sight to sit at her graduation and see and hear from some of those “witnesses” gathered together from across North Carolina to celebrate Holly’s recovery and what the Lord was doing in her life!  The three women from the prison ministry who introduced her to Jesus, the staff members from Solus Christus who took her to Celebrate Recovery where she accepted Jesus as her Savior, Miriam and Oscar Ramirez and the many volunteers at Capstone who had helped her to grow in her faith were all there to rejoice in what the Lord had done to transform a lost drug addict into a healthy, serene, beautiful, godly Christian woman.  The Lord’s prevenient grace had protected her for years until she willingly accepted his justifying grace. Now she was experiencing his sanctifying grace to the max, and her family and friends were amazed at her progress!

As she and her family gathered for a beautiful group photo, I was reminded of Isaiah 61:3 and quietly rejoiced in knowing that the Lord had truly created beauty from ashes!  (Isaiah 61:3 NLT)

Praise God for those prison volunteers who planted seeds, the staff at Solus Christus who watered, those at Celebrate Recovery who harvested, and the staff, counselors, and volunteers at Capstone who nurtured the seedling and saw her grow toward maturity!  What a wonderful celebration.

As tears of joy puddled in my eyes and we began to sing Elevation Worship’s song, “Do It Again,” I was reminded of the words of the psalmist:

“Restore our fortunes, Lord,
Those who plant in tears
will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest.”  (Psalm 126:4-6 NLT)

We had witnessed first-hand the “harvest” at its best!  Great is His faithfulness!

p.s.  Holly is back in her hometown and getting ready to start back to college.  I got a call from her asking for advice on how to start a Celebrate Recovery ministry in the new church she is attending!  She is indeed living out Jesus’  Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and Celebrate Recovery’s 12th Step and 8th Recovery Principle:  “Yield myself to God to be used in bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.”  Can’t wait to see where Holly’s marathon will take her as she follows the leadership of the King of Kings!

Have comments?  Would love to hear from you!

 

*Published with Holly’s permission.