[Faith-talk] In Overcoming

[Julie C. Vogt]

The Bible says that you overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, so on the subject which Bonnie and Beth spoke of, I'd like to go a little farther.

In my life, especially when I was young and became an adult, I was an extreme grudge holder.  I had temporary friends mostly because of that.  I'm a witness that the worst thing that you think can happen to you in your life God makes the best thing.

When I first got saved, I realized this was a harmful thing for me, so I'd ask God that if this was the only way I'd forgive certain people against whom I held grudges, to help me forget who those people are, and God, in His mercy to a baby Christian, did that for me.  But eventually I had to learn how to forgive without that crutch.

When I lived in Minneapolis, I had a lot of experiences in HUD buildings where people of my race did things that were aggravating to put me under a persecution for associating with and attending churches of other races.  In one building I lived below two murders.  In many ways, that last experience traumatized me forever to where I have a medical condition for which I am treated and stay on medication.

When I left Minneapolis, all I could afford for rent turned out to be crack houses, so I left to start all over somewhere where I didn't know anybody, something which I don't recommend, but God was with me and still is.

In the late '70's and early '80's, I applied for--and after the seventh application was accepted--at Heritage School of Evangelism and Communications, which, some of you may know, was a college run by P.T.L.  After I was accepted, they gave me all kinds of reasons why I shouldn't be a student there and I wrote many letters to key people suddenly fired from staff as to what those reasons were without response.  Finally, even though Hazel Stalley and I worked together for quite some time, I decided it was better not to come to school there, reasoning that being accepted and not wanted would be worse for me than possibly being in an environment where I would be accepted and wanted.

I'll never forget the letter they wrote me:  "Dear Miss Vogt:  We are relieved and delighted that you have decided not to come to our school.  We have agonized in prayer over this as we don't know how you could play with other musicians and know how to stop and start with them."

That stayed with me a lot of years.  I kept my relationship with the Lord, but I was hurt and frustrated because it could have been a good thing.

We all know what happened to P.T.L., and in 1992, I visited Charlotte for the NFB national convention.  I realized I'd never have fit in at P.T.L., that this was definitely a nice city, but not the place for me.

I've heard people say, "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade."  But what we really need in our lives is the trust in God enough to enable ourselves to believe that God can make lemonade out of a lemon and do a good job.

I hope what I had to write helps some one on this list at this time of being thankful.

 

"Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul," American Humorist Mark Twain

"An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us," Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Immediate Past President, National Federation of the Blind

"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." Proverbs 18 19. KJV

"Faith is the ability to see God in the dark.," (unknown)

"No one can do it for us but us," Rev. Jesse Jackson, Operation Push, 1976.

"With proper training, development, and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to the level of a physical nuisance or characteristic," the Late Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Past President, National Federation of the Blind.

Julie Vogt or jcvogt at pressenter.com