www.creativeladiesministry.com

[Prov31wannabe]

Thought I'd share this...
The last year our group had a gift-giving Secret Sister program was my first year to participate.
I had just moved to that area and my husband's brother was also stationed there (we're all Army families).
My bro-in-law's wife also chose to participate in the Secr. Sis. program at that time.
The coordinator didn't know me at all and she gave me my sis-in-law's name for my Secr. Sister. She had no idea we were related...my last name is common and she thought it was just a "coincidence"---but we do not worship a God of coincidence, do we?!?!

My first thought was to alert the program coordinator to her "mistake" but I was prevented (God again!)...
So, I set about being a secret sister to my actual sister (in law) . It was a challenge. At that time, I'd known her for 15 years and it would be hard not to give myself away. I purposely gave her some treats that I knew were not her favorites. I had others deliver the gifts to the drop-off point. I was sneaky!
It was fun!!!

But here's the interesting part. My SIL and I had some ups and downs in our past but being military, we had forged a great relationship via long-distance communication. This was the first time we lived so close to each other.....and it tested the bond we had formed.
Long story -- short version.....she hurt me. She publicly dragged me thru the mud and old resentments reared up as ugly as ever.
Our relationship was severely strained....both our familes were effected. (our husbands, who are brothers, felt torn and pulled....our children--we have 8 between us--were confused and hurt)

All this began about two weeks into the 14 week Secret Sister program....
While I was struggling with hurt feelings and sometimes boiling anger, I still had to minister to her as her Secr. Sister.
In that role, I had to focus on prayer and love. I had to remind myself to fix my eyes on Jesus and on all reasons I knew to continue loving her.
God provided wonderful ladies for prayer and help as my burden grew too heavy to carry alone.

The result----I healed much more quickly than I thought possible. I moved past my hurt and set aside my anger.
I was trying to be a blessing in her life as her Secret Sister and I wound up BEING blessed in a way I can barely describe.
I continued as her Secr. Sis.
By the end of the 14 weeks, I was at peace with my SIL.
I wish I could say she was at peace with me.....she wasn't.....
But now, I knew I could weather this trial in her life. God seemed to be using me to help her examine a part of herself that is painful-----but look at how He protected me and cushioned me from the blows!?!?!?!

I hope this made sense.
Secret Sister programs, like anything else done for His glory, can bless you in ways you cannot even imagine.
_________________
Colossians 1:27 ...."Christ in you, the hope of glory."

[jodi]

Prov31wannabe,

Just today I was on a journey to find inspirational stories. Thank you for sharing this very personal but very inspirational story. It was a blessing to me.
_________________
Jodi
Jer 32:27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

[Bramblerose]

Thanks, Prov31wannabe.

I had a somewhat similar situation one year -- I got someone's name who was a lady that I just didn't get along with. There was nothing out in the open. But she just had a personality that clashed with mine, and I had just decided that maybe the best thing to do was discreetly and graciously try to avoid being around her -- then I got her name as my secret sister!

Ours was a year-long program, and after several months of praying for her and doing things for her, the Lord changed my heart about her. One of the things that had "bugged" me was that she had what I thought of as a "know-it-all" personality, and I have to admit in my flesh that that kind of person is one of the hardest for me to interact with. But I began to realize that it wasn't really "know-it-all" -- she was genuinely trying to be helpful by so often sharing what she knew about various things.

So -- secret sister ministries are not just a minstry to the one whose name we get -- but to ourselves as well.