Wow, as I was watching this recently uploaded video, I found myself crying. Oddly enough, 2 times prior to this morning I attempted to watch it last night but both times I fell asleep, so I never really did view it until this morning. Oh my goodness it began to flood feelings I experienced when my own father died and it was my sister, and brother-in-law seated in the attorney's office when he read the will to us. We were in utter shock. I was in the hospital room when my father decided to no longer go the route of treatments and be moved across the street to the hospice house. He knew that if he did not do kidney dialysis, he would be dead within a few days' time. His attorney was in the room and asked him if "the will" was okay or did it need to be changed. I heard my father say to him the girls were taken care of. I heard those very words spoken by our father. My father was distraught from the passing of his oldest son, our brother a year prior. My dad didn't even change his will in that period of time, and it still reflected our brother's name listed in the will as if he was still living.
Imagine, down the road a conference table filled with attorney's representing the various Catholic organizations were there to depose me and my sister was deposed another time because we were contesting our father's will. They were trying to say that I was listed so low in our fathers will to receive anything from his estate because I was no longer a practicing Catholic. Well, guess what. One of the attorneys tried to make the point that my father had a change of his heart and will when I became born again and no longer a practicing Catholic. In that moment Holy Spirit gave me the very words of truth spoken that seemed to refute that line of thinking. I replied I became born again while I was still a Catholic. It is amazing how Holy Spirit will use words spoken to your heart and even a woman can confound the words of a table filled with attorneys.
The very thing they were fighting against was the very thing Holy Spirit used me to lead my staunch Catholic father that was even at 1 time an altar assistant/server during the mass at the Cleveland Cathedral downtown under the leadership of Bishop Anthony Pilla. I was drawn away from the Catholic church to a church that taught the bible and evangelism. I took Evangelism Explosion and 3 weeks before my father died I led him to Jesus. It was on the exact 1-year anniversary of the brother I mentioned dropped dead on a sidewalk just down the street from the hospital my father was in and having a procedure that very day. It was an eerie feeling going past the location where my brother died on the way to the hospital to see my dad. He had a procedure to install a portal/stint or whatever you call it to then be able to do dialysis in his arm. I was there when he came out of the procedure and I told him I loved him, and Jesus loved him too. My father had a domineering type of personality, and you never knew when he could raise his voice. So, with that knowledge I am sitting there beside him in a chair with my bible and I begin to sense Holy Spirit nudging me this is the time to share the plan of salvation with him and I thought to myself uh oh what if dad gets upset with me. The opposite happened. After telling him what I said he then said find me Jesus. That's when Holy Spirit was nudging me to extend the invite and lead him to Jesus. I said what Holy Spirit had me say. For those 3 weeks leading up to his death he would say I hope Kimberly is right about Jesus. I would re-assure him that it is not what I say but the bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.
You know all this stuff; I have shared this on my blog before. Yes, even a staunch practicing Catholic can turn their heart to Jesus. When I look back my father did try to give money he had away to Catholic type or organizations. I recall even my former husband sharing with me that he was at my father's home 1 day and some hippie looking priest came there and my father handed him cash.
Sometimes when visiting with my father at the hospital I would feel bad that he went to have that procedure done and he never even used it, and it caused bruising on his arm. When I would feel bad that he had to endure all of that I would then be comforted with the fact that if he never had that procedure done that day maybe there may have not been the opportunity to share the invitation to invite Jesus into your heart. I believe that day was 9/14 and he went to be with Jesus 10/3. Yes, even just days before facing death there is still hope to invite Jesus into your heart and forgive your sins and wash you white as snow because He chose to die that cruel and painful death on a cross so you could be in heaven with Him for all eternity. If your heart is being tugged at now by reading this blog, then take a moment to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and let the blood of Jesus that was shed on that cross cleanse you and then invite Jesus into your heart. May I suggest another step after you've taken that step. Go and share with someone that you gave your heart to Jesus. Oh, a great piece of advice that was given to me years ago by a Catholic priest that was a spiritual advisor to me the Catholic church sent me to advise me to start reading the bible. Start in the New Testament and even though you may want to read more than 1 chapter a day don't, just absorb what you are taking in by reading 1 chapter a day. He said in doing so I would get to know Jesus. Oh yes, Welcome to the family of God and we will meet in heaven one glorious day, hallelujah.
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