Weekend: I Remember…When a Stop Sign Changed my Life

Devotion for Friday, Saturday, Sunday 4/3-5

Our Father will always make a way. He will make sure that you will get to your divine appointment – and then let all Heaven break loose.

Read Luke 14-15 Friday, 16-17 Saturday, 18-19 Palm Sunday

I Remember…When a Stop Sign Changed my Life

A Stop sign. We see them all the time. They can be pretty annoying, but they do have their purpose. We will get a ticket if we don’t stop, or may get into something much worse: an accident. Stop signs are as important as getting unhindered to our destination.

God speaks to us at the Stop signs of life. There is a time when we must stop, take a moment, and listen.

That’s what happened to me; God spoke to me at a Stop sign. I still remember that evening when I was 18, and driving home alone. The same Stop sign I have driven through countless times. An ordinary place. But this time the Father takes the ordinary and transforms it into a Heavenly encounter.

But first let me share some events that lead me to this now, very special place. A place that changed my life forever.

I remember as a senior in high school, my dad came up to me and said, “Son, you have got to find out what you are going to do with your life, because you ain’t going to make a living on prayer!” As an atheist, my dad didn’t quite appreciate my faith.

“What am I going to do with my life?” was the question that kept going through my mind, as I frantically tried to figure out what God could have in store for me.

I went on a three day prayer and fast. I didn’t end up seeing a message written in the sky, and I didn’t have a prophet stop by the house to give me a revelation. I just plodded through my senior year, looking at different vocations, trying to find the right “fit.”

A good friend in youth group informed me about a position at the Cathedral Prayer Group. The church I went to at the time was the Cathedral of Tomorrow, and both were a part of Rex Humbard’s ministry. (He had a world-wide television ministry at the time). This would be a paid position in answering calls and praying with people for their needs.

As I remember interviewing for the position. I could see that I did all the wrong things. Here I was, a Jesus freak, with long hair and a free spirit. I needed a shave, wore bell-bottom jeans, and a windbreaker. I didn’t even look like I wanted the job, because I thought she wouldn’t hire someone straight out of high school. I just did the interview, just to do the interview.

As it turned out, I got the job. No one was more surprised than me. I became convinced that if God opens the door, there is no one that can shut it; and if He wants you somewhere, you will get there.

I can still remember trying to explain my new position to my dad. It took some time for him to understand that I got a job where I made my “living on prayer.”

This new job became of great significance in my life. It kept my dad scratching his head, trying to figure how you could make a living on prayer. It helped me to grow as a Christian and grow in the awareness of Christ using me for ministry. And, oh, by the way: there was this new hire that relieved my desk for the next shift. She was this beautiful young lady named Leona.

The first thing you would notice about Leona was her long beautiful hair. Ash brown in color it went all the way down to her bu…I mean her rea…I mean all the way down to her waist. Her green eyes were captivating, and she had a winsome smile.

It took a little time for me, but I finally asked her out for a date. Our first date consisted of getting a little lost on a hike at a national park and hitchhiking back to the car. Our second was to a Christian coffee house and I think Pizza Hut. (I will always remember her saying she was done after eating two slices of pizza, and was I excited that the rest of the large supreme was mine. But Leona started picking at that beautiful pizza, a mushroom here and a piece of sausage there. I was having anxiety attacks as I saw the pizza toppings dwindling before me. I remained cool, but not calm. I am Hungarian, and it means something you know).

And as it happens when a couple falls in love, we eventually started to spend all of our available time together. We enjoyed spending time doing the simplest things together, from taking walks to talking hours at a time.

You know, come to think of it, I have never asked Leona to marry me. But I do remember when I came to the point thinking she was the one. I started committing this to prayer, and I could feel a deep struggle from within me. What if Leona was not the Lord’s will for me?

I remember when the struggle came to the point where I had to surrender to the will of the Father. I was on lunch break at work. I sat down in the break room alone, reading from the book of Matthew. I was lead to the passage about giving up everything. taking up our cross, and following Him. I felt the Father wanting me to surrender her to His will.

There was a deep struggle inside me – I wanted to marry this girl, and I didn’t want to give her up. But I finally did it. I gave her to the hands of God, and gave our relationship to his will. Now it was up to Him whether she was the one or not.

The second that I surrendered to His will, I immediately felt a rush of peace.

Then the Lord lead me to Matthew:

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

I knew Leona was the one for me.

The next day we had a get-together, and I shared this experience with a good friend. Leona noticed how I kept it low key, and that got her curiosity. Well, before I left for home she wouldn’t leave me alone until I told her. But how do you explain it, how do you to tell someone the Lord told you she was the one?

I told her the story; and then I said, “I prayed if you were the one for me, and I believe the Lord told me, “yes.”

Silence. It seemed like forever. I was getting a little nervous. Then I asked: “What do you think?”

Leona said, “I’m all for it.” And that was that.

I went home and thought nothing of it until the next day. Then it hit me: Did I ask her to marry me? Am I engaged? I guess so. We never talked about it again, we just assumed we would marry. (I did get a ring from a bubble gum machine, and I later sold my bass guitar to buy wedding bands).

I found the one whom I would share my the rest of my life with, and I was a happy guy.

But someone was not happy, and actually, was not happy at all. Mom was very unhappy about Leona, and my relationship with her (please read my Blog, “If You Missed it: I Remembered When…My Mom Wanted me Dead” to understand my Mom a little bit more). It seemed obvious that she considered Leona as the enemy. I guess it didn’t really hit me at first as to the true reason why.

It all started when my mom realized that Leona and I were getting serious. She would talk with me, trying to discourage me from pursuing my relationship with her. She once tried to stop me from seeing Leona by hiding my car keys. She even made the attempt to recruit my dad for the cause, but surprisingly, he backed me up.

The first encounter that Leona had with my Mom was when she telephoned me at home. As the phone was ringing, my mom got to the phone first (that gal was quick!), and when she found out it was Leona – whoa! Instead of informing me about the call, she took the opportunity to tell Leona what she thought of her.

I later asked Leona what my mom said, but she told me very little, and didn’t want to repeat the rest. Let me just say from what little Leona did tell me, I was blown away: I never knew my mom could say such things.

My mom saw her life changing, and she saw her plans changing. As the oldest, she depended on me in dealing with an alcoholic husband who was an absentee father. I also helped with my younger brother and sister, being more of a fatherly influence than my dad.

But I came to realize that there was much more. My mom wanted to divorce my father for years, and planned to have me take care of her. She was determined that nothing would interfere with her plans, and especially a young lady who was after her son.

Oh yeah, about that Stop sign. I guess all of us wish we could drive on the road without anything to stop us, but we know that it would be impossible. We would end up killing each other! The same thing can be said about the Stop signs of life: we need to take the time to stop, pause, and listen.

I still remember that evening when I was 18, and driving home alone. It’s the same Stop sign I have driven through countless times. A very ordinary place. But this time the Father takes the ordinary and transforms it into a Heavenly encounter.

As I stopped, I heard God’s voice. I knew it was God; it wasn’t an audible voice, but it was a voice that I never experienced before. It wasn’t an impression, or even a feeling. It was a definite voice – I can’t explain it.

What did God say to me? He wanted me to leave my parent’s home and go out on my own. But not only that, He emphasized that I had to do it, and as quickly as possible.

You might think, “What’s the big deal?” It was a huge deal. My family needed me – they depended on me. I felt the weight of my responsibility, and the prospect of leaving them would tear my heart apart.

I would not have left my parent’s home. The guilt would have been overwhelming. It took that experience at the Stop sign to urge me – to command me – to go out on my own.

As I was packing my things, my mother, brother, and sister begged me not to leave. I can’t express the struggle that I had inside. Looking back, I don’t think I could have gone through with it unless I knew it was what I was supposed to do.

That night as I laid in bed in my new home (I rented the upstairs of a house), I waited for the onslaught of guilt to overwhelm me because of leaving my family.

Have you ever had so much peace that it troubled you? I experienced so much peace, as if it had enveloped me. It was impossible for me to even feel guilty. I tried! I couldn’t comprehend this feeling of peace when I expected the torture of guilt.

The Father blessed me with the assurance that I did the right thing.

Well, you guessed it – we were married and very happy! But Mom wasn’t happy. She immediately exerted herself into a position of influence and control. She worked to position herself to pit me against Leona. It was difficult at first, because at that time I regarded my mother like a saint. She was the one who sacrificed herself in raising us in spite of an absentee alcoholic father.

Of all the decisions I made throughout our married life, one of the most important was the recognition of Gen 2:24:

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

I determined that Leona would come before my Mom. I was to honor my parents, but I must also cling to my wife, as we submitted to each other in love. Leona had to be number one in my life, and I could not let my mom come between us.

This one decision saved our marriage from a lot of grief, and forged us together as a couple. But it also worked for the good regarding my mom. She realized this was to be, and it wasn’t going to change.

We were just kids – all we had was each other, and our faith in Christ. And we lived happily ever-after. The butterflies were flittering about us, birds would come and sing about our love, and mom fell in line and was a great joy to live with.

Are you kidding me?

Marriage is a blast, but man, it’s hard work! How do you describe two people fully convinced that they are right, and are fully committed that Leona…I mean…the other should completely understand that?

Love is hard work, but it’s worth it. Ah, our newlywed years: more of Leona, me, mom – and Leona’s mom.. Another time, another Blog.

Oh yeah; back to that Stop sign. If I didn’t stop, listen, and obey, I am not sure about the direction I would have taken in my life. Even though Stop signs can be annoying, and you want to cruise along without slowing down or stopping – you had better stop at the Stop signs if you want to get there at all.

Please don’t despise the Stop signs in your life. Use them effectively to pause and listen to God’s voice, learn from the past, and pursue the road before you.