Happy New Year! May your 2015 be filled with God’s joy and grace!
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”
—Revelation 21:1-5a
One day, God will make everything gloriously new, but we don’t have to wait until the new Heavens and the new Earth to see God’s transforming work. We see it every day in the lives of women—such as a new, 20-something volunteer named Lydia.
I met Lydia as I planned Stonecroft’s 2010 outreach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Since I desperately needed a translator, and knew that Lydia was from Puerto Vallarta, I prayed for her salvation and for God to use her in Stonecroft’s outreach.
We connected on Facebook and I repeatedly invited her to attend an After 5 Dinner. Finally, she said yes! When the After 5 Outreach Meeting ended, she quietly thanked me and left. God planted a seed.
Fast forward a year and a half. My heart filled with joy when Lydia’s Facebook posts changed from worldly things to Bible verses.
Lydia later shared with me that she had never heard people talk about God or Jesus in the same way the After 5 speaker did. During a personal trial, Lydia went to church and invited Jesus to be her Savior.
Out of the blue, I received a Facebook message from her: “Hi Michelle, I was wondering if you are going to go do your Stonecroft work in Puerto Vallarta again and if I could come and help you?”
With God all things are possible! In March 2014, we served together in Mexico! This new volunteer has now introduced two women—including her mother—to Jesus Christ.
Stonecroft exists to help women have a new beginning, a restored relationship with the God of the Universe because Jesus lived, died, and rose for them. I know each of you has many Lydia stories. We know our labor for God yields an abundant harvest because we see Him transform hearts and lives.
Father in Heaven,
Thank You for new beginnings. You have so graciously blessed each of us, may we bless you this new year and beyond. Amen.