Matthew 19:29-30 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Yes Lord, I will follow you no matter the cost....

What cost? In comparison to what the Lord has done for us...there is no "cost" there is nothing that is worth.....not doing the Lord's Will here on earth.

So, when I say I left everything to follow the Lord, I really left....nothing compared to doing His Will.

Bible college....after being married with three boys, a business, and a routine...of washing, making suppers, cleaning house, working at our store, and a host of other motherly duties...I became a 'college student'. I dropped out of high school and since that time...in the back of my mind...I was an academic failure, this always bothered me; not on a constant basis but enough to where if someone would talk about their high school diploma I felt embarrassed that I did not have one. Funny how we see somethings as 'all' important, but other things such as being a good mother and wife as down the line...of importance in the eyes of most. Yes, education is important, very...but I would rather be a good mother, than a good student. The Lord sent me to a high school in Florida to obtain my GED and on to college. He makes all things beautiful in it's time.

Bible college held a lot of challenges for me....one was to not get up and leave class....I really did not want to be there...it was scary to me. I thank God that every class without exception started with a prayer and song - these helped me continue going day in and day out. God was there...encouraging me.

I had been struggling with a pain in my back for months before starting Bible college; and it seemed to be getting worse. Three months before my first class I had been in the hospital where three doctors could not find any reason for my back pain.

With starting college and anticipating following the Lord full time, this problem in my back was getting to me...it didn't seem the Lord was healing it and yet, He wanted me to go to college and prepare for missions. In desperation one day, I cried out, "Lord, the doctor's couldn't find a thing wrong with my back....if I have to follow you in pain - I will..." As soon as I said those words, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Open the Yellow Pages." I went to the drawer got the book out and did just that. I prayed opened it up and just asked God to guide me - I pointed my finger with my eyes closed to a name...I opened my eyes and saw a surgeon's name.....called him and the next day I had an appointment. I was wondering why this doctor was so easy to get an appointment with... I went in the next day...he took x-rays and said he could not see anything wrong, my heart sunk.

He continued with touching each toe with a sharp instrument....and in one foot I could feel the instrument very well, the other not so well. He explained that he thought I had a pinched nerve in my ankle and it would need an operation, which he could schedule in a day or two. This was a lot to comprehend... three doctors at a famous hospital could not find anything wrong and this doctor, with no appointments, is telling me I need an operation.

I went to school and told my professors that I would be missing classes for a week; one graciously told me that if I had enough 'faith' God would heal me and I wouldn't need an operation. This really affected me....as here I was enrolled in Bible college - to go to the mission field - left everything to follow God...and I didn't have enough 'faith' to be healed. Me, being sensitive took this to heart and carried it with me, but not for long.

I went into the hospital...the operation would be about 5:00 P.M. it was 1:00 P.M. so I took my Bible out and started to read it...I started to read in Psalms..but God said, 'Read Acts...' I thought, 'Read Acts?'...so I read Acts. I started with Acts 1:1 I got to Acts 3:2&ff

"And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down everyday at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he began asking to receive alms.

But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said,

"I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene ----------walk!" And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened."

God let me know right then and there...I had nothing to worry about...He was going to heal me..through that operation. And heal me He did. But, that is not the end of the story. Three months later as I went for my last visit to this doctor.... I told him 'how' I found him and how I had prayed and God led me to him. He called his nurse in as he wanted me to tell her. After I told her, he said, "I interned with the doctor in England that developed this operation."

Well, yes, heal me God did....and teach me even more. God is God and His ways are higher than ours. This doctor would not forget this witness of the power of God.

Months later I had to go back to one of the doctors that had been on the team that could not find what had caused the pain in my back...he asked me if I remember him...from the hospital.....and asked me whatever happened...I gave him the whole story....I happen to be sitting across from him, he was at his desk..he got a shocked look on his face - asked me to come around to his side of the desk and look at this huge open medical book in front of him...on one of the pages it had a picture of the ankle and below was a description of the very operation I had gone through, again.....all glory went to God. This doctor sent me on my way...with the words, "Go in peace."

One doctor mentioned later on..that this problem had been known to 'reoccur' within 10 years and another operation would probably be needed. This ankle stayed stiff for about 10 years...then it dawned on my one day..it wasn't stiff anymore..thus instead of needing 'another operation' God healed it completely....10 years later and now, many years later it is still ....healed.

Bible college.....one year at a time....many hours of study....many chapel services and student ministries......to the mission field.

About my third year of Bible college - I went on a missions trip to Mexico. One of the visiting professors had started a church in the interior...and asked us to visit for a couple of weeks. I had been praying that God would give me a 'country' to be 'called' to as it seemed everyone knew exactly where they were going, but I did not have one clue.

Many things happened during that trip to Mexico. The missionary's wife asked me what I thought a Bible study should be like...I described to her...the women's Bible studies I had attended...she said that was the way they were 'suppose' to be, but it seemed she was getting no where with the women in their small church. Before leaving the house to follow the missionary to his home in Mexico I picked up a sermon notebook I kept from sermons I wrote for classes I took. One sermon was on prayer. The missionary asked me to teach the women of the church on prayer, so I used this sermon, which had four parts ...and in four days.....I taught what God had given me as a sermon. A traveling evangelist came by during that week, he told us he had been sent by God to encourage the missionaries in the country. Not only he, but another missionary couple from the Dominican Republic came by ....Friday - Saturday..we held services at the small church. I had taught the women Monday through Thursday on prayer...and pray they did...and pray we did.....

One of the things the missionary had told me was the women were not filled with the Spirit they did not seem to care to be - so we prayed for that too. We told the enemy he had no right to these ladies nor the church and we prayed for a revival. Friday night when the evangelist preached...the ladies went up to the altar..were filled with the Spirit....their husbands were saved....before this the men had not attended the church.

What do we 'give up?' to follow the Lord? Nothing in comparison to what we gain - HIM.

To be continued:

MKL