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My Dreams Were Too Small
Katherine
Kehler
When I was a young
girl, my dreams weren’t much different than most girls of my generation: To get
married, have children and keep a lovely yard.
But through a unique
and exciting series of events, the Lord graciously showed me that my dreams
were too small.
Of course, He wanted
to give me these precious gifts, but God wanted to give me much more:
An Opportunity To
Change
The Lord began
speaking to me about this many years ago while I was dusting our bedroom
dresser.
I noticed a brochure
lying amongst the other items and glanced through it to see if I should throw
it away or file it. As I did, a phrase caught my attention:
“Learn
how to live the abundant Christian life.”
The brochure was
advertising a conference by an organization I had never heard of before –
Campus Crusade for Christ.
I assumed it was for
college students, and we had four children by then, but I decided to hang onto
it, thinking my husband, Marvin, might be interested in taking our family to
the event.
What is the Abundant
Christian Life?
I had set the
brochure aside, but the phrase, “Learn how to live the abundant Christian
life,” kept coming to my mind throughout the rest of the day.
I had been a
Christian since age 12, but in the last few years I sensed I was missing
something.
Outwardly, I had
everything I had ever dreamed of: A wonderful husband, four healthy children,
several businesses, and to top it all off, we had just moved into our dream
home.
One thing that was
missing, however, was my mother. She had died that May and I missed her very
much.
But God used this
time of mourning to help me think seriously about eternity.
I knew I wanted to
see my mother again, but I wasn’t sure I would go to heaven when I died, and
that’s where I assumed she was.
A few days after I
read the brochure, my brother-in-law Ed Goerzen dropped in and asked if Marvin
had mentioned the conference to me.
I told him he hadn’t,
but I was very interested. When he encouraged us to go, I listened, because Ed
had changed a lot in the past few months.
Even though he had
always had a pleasing personality, he now radiated the joy of Christ. I really
wanted that joy too.
In
fact, when my brother-in-law left, I prayed, “God, how can I have this kind
of joy?”
The thought, “total
commitment” crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed it aside.
After all, I was
already involved in many leadership roles in my church and community and I
certainly didn’t want more things to do.
But a
quiet voice inside of me said, “I want you, not your work.”
I chose to ignore
this voice, but I didn’t forget it.
Off to the Conference
Several respected
friends had also encouraged us to attend this conference, so we eventually
decided to go and as an added incentive, it was raining in BC where we lived
and very sunny in California where the conference was being held!
A few weeks later we
were on our way to California for the conference that would change our lives.
During one of the
messages, the speaker asked us to write a list of our acts and attitudes we
knew were displeasing to God.
I have to admit my
list was much longer than I thought it would be. Then I claimed the promise in
1 John 1:9,
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness.”
I felt so clean
inside when I was done.
The next morning, we
heard a message on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This was the moment
of decision.
To experience the
abundant life I wanted, I needed to give control of my life completely to God.
This was the total commitment He had told me about and I had rejected weeks
earlier.
However, this time I
had no hesitation in giving it to Him. My prayer went something like this:
Dear
God, I need You. I know that I have sinned against You by directing my own
life. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ’s death on the
cross for me.
I
invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with
Your Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your
word that You would do if I asked in faith.
I pray
this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I thank You for
directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Immediately, I was
filled with such joy and love, I couldn’t contain myself.
I read
recently that in the deep south, people call this breakthrough to a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ as, “I was seized by the power of great
affection.”
For a reserved person
like me, this was definitely a supernatural experience.
I realized I also had
to make the Bible my authority from that day onward. Anything that did not
agree with God’s Word would be disregarded.
The Great Commission
That weekend, Marvin
and I both committed our lives to help fulfil our Lord’s Great Commission.
Thus, our priorities
– and our lives – began to undergo a radical change.
As hard as we had
worked in our businesses and our home, now we began to pour all of our efforts
into reaching our neighbourhood, our country and the world with the good news
of God’s love and forgiveness.
“Did I Hear You Correctly,
Lord?”
Even though I have
been filled with the Holy Spirit, who promises to act as my teacher and guide,
there have been times when I have doubted if I have heard God correctly.
Several years ago, I
was certain God wanted me to put my energies into creating an evangelistic
magazine on the Internet.
I had ideas and
content but kept running into roadblocks (namely, a lack of qualified people)
to get the content online.
It seemed that every
time I tried a new avenue, it turned into another dead end.
Desperate, I
consulted the Lord again. Had I really heard Him or was it just my imagination?
Soon after that, I
received an e-mail from a young man named Brent.
He
said, “I saw your web sites and could do a lot better than what you are
doing.”
So, I asked him what
he would do differently and he listed 20 things.
To make a long story
short, a month later, he became our web designer – and a very good one at that.
A month later, a
talented young woman applied to be our writer and editor.
As time went by, God
continued to answer my cry for help by adding talent to our team.
Another obstacle we
faced was that evangelistic web sites don’t generate funds, so raising money
became part of my job description.
Once again, the Lord
provided two couples who saw the possibilities of reaching into countries,
offices and hearts through the Internet.
Since then, together
with a committed team and donors, God has enabled to build eight successful
websites.
“Yes, Katherine, I am
in Control”
Through experiences
like these, God has shown me so many times that He is in control and He will
provide.
All I need to do is
listen, trust and obey. And if I do, He will bless me beyond my wildest
imagination.
Who would have
thought that a woman who wanted nothing more than “the American dream” would
one day play a key role in reaching hundreds of thousands of people all over
the world through over eight websites?
Not me, that’s for
sure. But as I said, my dreams were too small.
It was only when I
let go of those dreams and totally committed my life to God that He truly began
to pour out His blessings on my life.
by Katherine Kehler
Do you sometimes feel
as if your dreams are too small?
Are you looking for a
more satisfying relationship with God, an opportunity to make a truly significant
impact on the world?
If so, I encourage
you to commit your life totally to God, to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you
completely.
If you already
believe in Jesus Christ, God has given you His Holy Spirit to help you live
life according to His perfect plan.
Why not pray this
simple prayer and by faith invite Him to fill you with His Spirit?
Dear
Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You by directing
my own life. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ’s death
on the cross for me.
I
now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me
with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled and as You promised in
Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith.
I
pray this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I thank You for
directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If you prayed this
prayer we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to
know God deeper, we can connect you with an email mentor and/or send you some
great links.
Katherine
Kehler
was born
in Bassano, Alberta, Canada and lived the first 9 years of her life in
Rosemary, Alberta. From there, her family moved to Abbotsford, BC and
lived on a 64 acre dairy farm until she graduated from high school.
Katherine
and Marvin were married in 1956 and had four children, three daughters and a
son. Their children were raised on their 10 acre chicken farm. They lived 52
years of their married life in Aldergrove, BC. They recently moved back
to Abbotsford, BC.
When
they were in their early thirties, their lives and priorities changed
dramatically when they yielded total control of their lives to Jesus Christ and
practised walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
She
served as the producer and executive editor of Women Today Magazine, which
was read in over 140 countries. In 1995, she began a website version
of the magazine. In only a few years, the website grew to five websites,
in English and French. When she transferred her ministry responsibilities
to other women, over 220,000 women from 155 countries visited these websites
every month. More than 11,000 women subscribe to her devotionals.
When
Dreams Come True: Her first book, When Dreams Come True: Women Today
Online was published in September 2001. In October of that same year
she was included in The Celebration of Women, a book that profiled
influential Christian leaders from around the world. Articles about her have
been published in several publications such as Faith Today,
Maranatha, and Christian Leadership.
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