Peggy's Gift

Peggy invited me to her home for lunch one day.  I was just a young college student who worked with her at a local drug store.  She attended the same church as the owners of the store and worked part-time as a clerk.  She was a nice lady and so I went to her house to see what she wanted.

She didn’t want anything from me; she wanted to give me one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received!  We started out having a sandwich at a little table outside her house and she prayed over our food first, something I wasn't used to doing.  There was a little jade plant and afterward, she said she wanted me to have it as a sign of friendship.  I was in new terrain, having someone be so kind to me, and I remember being somewhat unsettled waiting to see what she really wanted.

       She invited me in, and we sat on her big, brown couch.  She shared some of her life with me and how she was unable to have children of her own, but she and her husband had adopted.  She showed me a back bedroom that had her supply of Mary Kay products that she sold on the side.  She had been a stay-at-home mom and her job at the drug store filled some of her time. 

Peggy shared her faith with me and explained that serving the Lord, through her church and in daily life, was her priority.  She had a worn out, green “The Living Bible” and she showed it to me.  It was a well-loved Bible and inside, the pages were all marked up in different colors and highlighted.  She had one of those old four-color pens and she used a bookmark to underline certain passages with a straight line.  She explained to me that she had read through that Bible five different times over five years.  She had a yearly Bible Reading Plan that she followed, and it was time for her to use a new Bible.

She witnessed to me that day as we sat on her couch.  She took time out of her life to include me in it so that I could know Jesus!  She shared her Jesus with me, some girl she worked with, and I felt like she actually cared about me. I felt seen. She prayed with me and afterward; she gave me that Bible.  I was taken aback and tried to refuse such a treasured gift, but she insisted that she wanted me to have it.  I still get tears thinking about that moment in time where an almost stranger gave me one of the most important gifts I’ve ever received.  I didn’t realize the true value of her gift at the time, but years later, when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ, I grew to understand.

Early on in my Christian walk, I read through a new Bible I purchased, so I could mark it up like she had done, and I am so glad I did because it gave me the Spiritual Nourishment, I needed to sustain me through some of life’s most fiery trials.  I finally had a Firm Foundation upon which to stand, and I was tested, purified and refined, For Such a Time as This…

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

Revelation 12:11

Because I had spent most of my life shrouded in the pain of childhood trauma and the resulting shame that had been heaped upon me, by others and myself, I was a completely broken vessel when I surrendered to Jesus.  If I had excavated the buried foundational trauma during those early years of growing in Christ, I might not have had to walk through some of the hottest fire, but I didn’t walk alone.  Jesus was with me, and His Word was in me, otherwise I would never have survived.

I’m sharing Peggy’s Gift with the world because of the Overwhelming Impact one act can have on a broken soul.  One kind move or one encouraging word can be the difference in someone’s life.  I know the Lord inspired Peggy to give me her Bible and share her Faith with me because I was just some young girl she worked with, and it was a priceless gift!  I was no one special and we never really stayed in contact after I had moved on in my life, until years later when I surrendered to Christ.  I reached out to her one Christmas to thank her for the treasured gift.  I wanted her to know that I had finally realized the value of her sacrifice and had surrendered my life to Jesus. I wanted to thank her for being obedient to the Lord and picking me up to move me forward a little.

All the fires Jesus walked me through since then have further burned away the façade of who I had to be to survive deeply buried, childhood trauma. The burden of becoming Fireproof can only be sustained by WALKING WITH GOD, and there is no other weight that is so Lite, so full of Light, and so Heavy, all at the same time. 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

The Weight of what we carry through life must be acknowledged so that God can Transform it into a Shield of Faith.

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." Ephesians 6:16

We must invest the time, sacrifice our time, to get to know the Lord through His Holy Word. We can each grow in Grace to view the world as Jesus does by getting to know Him better and becoming a Willing Vessel, He can pour through.

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

Luke 23:34

Be Blessed and Determine in your Spirit to read through the Bible in 2026!

True Freedom comes from God...

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*In honor of Peggy Crawford and the other women who picked me up to move me forward. They know who they are...

BIBLE250: Journey Through Scripture

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