ForgottenWoman

When God is The Judge and Goes Before You

I’m not even sure where to begin with today’s article but I’m going to attempt to share a very personal part of my life over the past year and a half without exposing anyone and their part in this experience. Challenging, yes; but hopefully not impossible! The very reason that I have chosen to share is because as I look back over the story I can see God’s hand, His timing, and many things He has taught me throughout the entirety of the situation. I’ve also chosen to share because in the midst of a very human story and a very active God working all things for His glory and our good; I’ve learned once again of the blessing of my children – in this case a son who stepped in as a mouthpiece and ‘muscle’ in my time of need. (Yes, ladies. We really do need men in some situations and that does not make us weak!)

So, as you may know; one of the branches of ministry that God has allowed me to have over the past 7+ years is in a local shop called Tranquility. The activities there range from women’s Bible studies, recovery support groups, Grief support groups, Ladies’ Nights, ministry to teen moms, women recovering from past abortions, and abuse survivors. We also have the opportunity to minister to college students and the elderly occasionally through hands-on pampering and interaction. Individual counseling is available and times of gathering to simply pray and worship together. Another aspect of Tranquility has been the support of other women in small business ventures by providing space for their services and/or products.

About a year and a half ago one of the women who was working her business out of one of the rooms inside of Tranquility made a human mistake. The result was a minor amount of ‘damage’ that could have and should have been handled quickly and simply. Instead, our efforts were declined and we were told it wasn’t a big deal. Months later, I received a bill for thousands of dollars and a lawsuit demanding that I pay for work that had been done in the unit below mine. The lawsuit was being brought by a family trust.

I put on my big girl pants and went into the first courtroom with a magistrate where I experienced my first personal court case. In the process of the plaintiff making her case, my name and integrity as well as the names of others were slandered horrifically. It was so difficult to sit and listen to the accusations, but all I could do was pray silently. In the end, the magistrate threw the case out. It was obvious to him that any damage that had occurred was minor and the insurance company had already paid the bill. I was not liable. Apparently, a witness had stepped forward after we all left and testified on behalf of my character – unknown to me. As you can imagine, I breathed a sigh of relief and assumed the best – it was over.

A few months later, I received a notification in the mail that the family trust was appealing the decision and I had to return to court in January of this year. Y’all – if you’ve never been in this situation, may I describe what it feels like to be a defendant in a lawsuit? To sit at the defendant’s table in the large courtroom listening as your name and the names of others that you love are slandered for all to hear? In both of these cases, I sat with my mind set on my Judge (Whom I had asked to go before me) and my eyes fixed on the human judge in front of me, just hoping he had the wisdom to see the truth. I left the courtroom in January with a date of February 3 for a continuance – and a belly full of knots. I wish I could tell you that I never faltered in my faith and that I knew the whole time that God was not going to allow me to be destroyed in this lawsuit. But, alas; the fact is that I’ve spent many nights on my knees in my bedroom begging for God to intervene, for this to be over, for the truth to be revealed, and for me to not have to sit through another day at the defendant’s table.

Well, in the meantime, I had written a letter in the fall after receiving news that they were going to appeal. In the letter, I outlined what had really happened on the day of the event, what I had done, what my landlord had done, what my son had done, etc. I told the family why I wasn’t responsible for the bills they were trying to force me to pay and how the lawsuit was not based on actual facts or truth. I even shared with them what I do inside of Tranquility and that people are way more important to me than money – if I had the money, I would just give it to them to bring peace to the situation; even though I knew I wasn’t responsible for the bill. I never got a response, just another court summons.

Since the court date in January, I have spent countless hours praying over this situation and others. I have been memorizing Scripture to renew my mind and keep my mind from going to dark places. One of the passages that I have had to review over and over in my memorization program has to do with being sued… you know, the one that says; “Turn the other cheek.” and the one that says, “If they take your coat, let them have your cloak as well!!.” In my mind, I would pause and pray after reviewing those verses, “Lord, PLEASE don’t require that!”

Well. Today is February 3. That date that I just hoped didn’t come until something miraculous happened ahead of time. I had letters and proof printed and available and I was preparing my heart and mind for another day at the defendant’s table. Last week, one of my sons called me and asked how I was doing. Apparently, I answered a bit too quickly with, ‘I’m fine!” He knew that I wasn’t. He pressed repeatedly until I spilled the beans. (They didn’t even know about the January date – I had pulled that off without my children knowing). Anyway, in my preparation, I did ask him over the weekend to write me a letter as a witness since he had been a part of the original day and situation. He promised me he would. Yesterday, as I was praying through it all and gathering everything, I called to remind him to email me his letter. It was then that he told me that he was going with me. My landlord had also informed me that he was coming for moral support, as well as a dear friend who said she was just going to be there. I have a prayer team of 10 women who were also praying.

Sunday night, February 2, I finally laid my head down, feeling like I had said everything I could say to the Lord about this, had everything prepared for the morning and I needed to try to rest. I dozed off and woke up at about 12:30 am and saw a text on my phone from a gentleman that I don’t know. He introduced himself as a family member from the trust. He simply asked if we could talk on the phone in the morning before the hearing. He expressed that he had just seen and read my letter from back in the fall for the first time, and he really wished he had seen it earlier. I didn’t know what to do! My ‘criminal’ past is very sparse and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to talk to the person suing me or not! I prayed about it for a few minutes and then I thought, “My son knows about this, ask him!”

What ended up happening: the phone call came in and my son and I were together on speaker phone with this gentleman this morning. He expressed his concern that this had not been done properly – that a mountain had been created out of a very small molehill and he really hoped we could come to a compromise. After speaking with my son for about 30 minutes, he realized that I owed them nothing financially – that if they were taken advantage of by someone; it wasn’t me.

I went to the courthouse and sat in the courtroom with my son on one side and my friend on the other – much better than the previous two times when I had gone alone! Within minutes I had a text from the same gentleman asking that I come down to the clerk’s office where he was having the case dismissed. Y’all, he had tears in his eyes as he apologized and asked me to forgive them for what they had put me through! He then apologized to my son as well. We spoke for a few minutes and he asked me to never stop doing the work that I am doing with women. He shared a very personal reason and I will hopefully have the opportunity to serve his family in the future. Can you just see God’s handprint all over this? One of the things that he stated before we separated was, “You know, our Lord tells us to go to one another and talk. If this had been done, you would not have faced all of this! I’m sorry!”

I’m in awe. I’ve been talking about God’s timing recently! He kept me waiting, praying, trying to be trusting until the VERY last minute in this situation. There are many other situations in my life that He is doing the same. I’m also learning something valuable about my family. I am loved. I have big boys (6 of them to be exact) that are not only willing but ready to take care of their momma in a variety of ways. I tend to feel that I’m a burden to them and I try to handle things that are just too big for me to handle – when they don’t see me as a burden at all. In fact, to quote my son in today’s “lecture”. It makes me very happy to do this for you! It makes us very happy to know that we are looking out for you. You have to get over this thing where you don’t let us know what you need!

“Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!”

As always, thank you for any and all of your support for The Forgotten Woman Ministries! It is because of your support that we do what we do.