[Meeting] meeting: THE POPE AND THE BAREFOOT WIDOW
Larry Hughes
lhughes at triad.rr.com
Mon Apr 11 11:02:40 SAST 2005
> ----------
> From: owner-meeting at kent.net on behalf of Larry Hughes[SMTP:LHUGHES at TRIAD.RR.COM]
> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 11:02:40 AM
> Cc: Dean & Lois Senning
> Subject: meeting: THE POPE AND THE BAREFOOT WIDOW
> Auto forwarded by a Rule
>
The world watched in wonder at the gold and glitter and glorying in the
life and death of the Pope. What did God think of this and was He
there? Of course, He was there because He is omnipresent.
If you read the Bible carefully, you will notice that God's attention is
always focused on the poor and outcasts...the widows and orphans.
If you were wondering where God was this week and what He was
doing......I can assure you that He was with the little band of gypsies
that gathered to pay their respects to an unsung heroine of the faith.
She was buried the same day as the Pope....in the village of Golosei
(pronounced Goloshei), Romania.
Georgita (prounouced Gorghitza) was widowed early in her marriage and
was left with five children. She returned to the lord (as the Romanian
believers call conversion) in 1977 and the closest church was five miles
away. She walked every Sunday without fail, even in the harsh Romanian
winters, until after the Revolution in '89 when they built a church near
her house. She cried at the dedication, thanking God that she didn't
have to make the long walk. She often had no shoes.
She remembered what it was like during those Communist years. She was
persecuted not only because of her faith, but because she was born a
gypsy. They threw rocks to break the windows at her church, cursed them,
and mocked Jesus Holy Name. But this didn't deter her one bit.
Life was difficult in Romania, but more so for the gypsies, especially
the widowed. She carved wooden spoons and sold them door to door to
feed her family. There was no money in these villages, so she received
a small amount of flour or corn meal in exchange. She left a legacy
of hard work, perserverance and deep faith.
She was illiterate, but always reminded her children of her favorite
verse, "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against
Thee." God's Word was written on her heart and praise for her Savior
was always on her lips.
In her later years, she became deaf, but that didn't stop her from
singing with her beloved Saints. She remembered the words she learned
at the little church where she was saved and watched the lips of other
believers when they sang. They would sing: "Jesus is a pilgrim in this
world of sin" and Jesus is always with me, everywhere I go." And that
He was.
When she died, her family and Christian friends gathered at her
bedside. She said to them, "When I was hungry, you brought me food,
when I was cold, you brought me firewood, when I was sick and lonely,
you visited me." And then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
She died in a tiny, wooden shack with dirt floors. She never had enough
food and clothes and often had to go barefoot. But they knew that God
was with them in that room......unashamed of their outward
surroundings. He, as did her many acquaintances saw her great faith in
a God who loves all His creatures no matter what their color or country.
A little brown, wrinkled mother, so totally dedicated to her
Savior, received from Him her crown of glory....her crown of
rightousness reserved for those that love Him.
No pomp and ceremony down here for this little Saint who suffered a
lifetime of pain and persecution and poverty. Yet all of Heaven
rejoiced at her homecoming.
She was a founding member of the church in Golosei. She has left behind
a large family - children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, all
of whom are believers. Many in her village have returned to God" as a
result of her witness.
Georgita, more than anything, wanted the love of Christ to always be
seen in her life and for Him to be glorified in everything she did.
And, according to the testimony of her friends and family, this is the
way she lived and died.
This humble, illiterate, poor gypsy woman had found the key to happiness
and spiritual riches.....something that no amount of money could ever buy.
From the Pope to the barefoot widow to every man, woman and child ever
born, God's glorious message is still the same: "For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
---------------------------------------------------
/
Ron & Sue Bates. C.P. 53--55, Bucharest 4, Romania
tel: 4021-313-5465, inasmuch at b.astral.ro <mailto:inasmuch at b.astral.ro>
inasmuch at zappmobile.ro <mailto:inasmuch at zappmobile.ro>, www.inasmuch.ro
<http://www.inasmuch.ro>
Please send Georghita's message of God's grace to your friends. God
bless you all.........Sue
To unsubscribe, send a message to esquire at kent.net with
unsubscribe meeting
as the BODY of the message. The SUBJECT is ignored.
More information about the Meeting
mailing list