Spiritual Heritage

While my son, Edon, was in his mother’s womb I felt that God used him to speak to us one day. From the first days of knowing my wife was pregnant I prayed for my son that he would be sensitive to and hear God’s voice. During a general check up the doctor gave my wife a sonogram and showed her the baby. The doctor thought it was interesting how our little boy had placed his hand over his forehead. She made comment how he looked like a soldier soluting. However, as my wife told me what she and the doctor saw, I sensed something different. As my wife told me what the doctor saw she was actually making the gesture for a fainting person. Yet, I just pondered the image created in my mind. Later that day my wife fainted because of the heat and being exhausted from walking a good distance. After my wife came around and grew stronger I began to think about the gesture my son made that day still in his mother's womb. Was he trying to warn us about my wife’s frail condition that day, by placing his hand on his head like a fainting woman would do, rather than a saluting soldier? Since that day I have often felt that our son has heard God's voice and communicated to us in some manner what he heard.

Clothed With Compassion

I recently had a dream where I was among some of my close friends who live in Kosovo. In the dream I remember them putting a long-sleeved, winter sweater on me. Just before I awoke from the dream I knew that God had clothed me with something special for my ministry though the meaning was not yet clear.

At the time of the dream I had been feeling a little discouraged and inadequate for the work God had called me to do. When I think about building the church among a foreign people and ministering in a strange language the task often seems impossible. So in my prayers I expressed my inadequacy to the Lord,  requesting that he equip me and make me adequate for my work.

It happened to be on Sunday morning when I had this particular dream. As I pondered the dream and prayed to the Lord for understanding I feel like I received my answer.

This particular Sunday morning a visiting minister had been preaching on the theme of compassion. When the minister came to the end of his message and read from Colossians 3 ‘clothe yourselves with compassion’ I said to myself, “that’s it.” The winter sweater in the dream represents compassion.”

You may be a little skeptical of my interpretation and feel I’m grasping for understanding of something that can’t be substantiated, but I know the profound impact it made on my spirit in the midst of a time of weakness. Through a dream and the help of a visiting minister the Lord strengthened my resolve, reminding me that he made me adequate by investing a measure his compassion within in my character, which became a motivating force for my ministry among the Albanian and Gypsy people in Kosovo.