Prayers for a Snowflake

This is the true story of eight ordinary women and one extraordinary God...

Myself and seven other women were driving back from a Women of Faith conference one afternoon in autumn. At the conference, we experienced God's presence and saw the need to pray for opportunities to impact the lives of women for Christ. We stopped at the Casey's close to the stadium and a gal in the group, Dixie, overheard a woman customer ask for a ride. You have to know Dixie to understand, but she is the friend that you love dearly and is a beautiful daughter of Christ but watch out because when Dixie is around there is normally a story to tell and an adventure to follow. Dixie felt the Spirit telling her to give this woman a ride, so being women of faith, this church van full of ordinary women answered the call.

The woman's name was Snowflake and she was severely overweight, filthy, and very downcast. She looked like life had not been kind to her and she had seen more of the world than anyone could ever imagine. She was hesitant to tell them much about herself, but opened up a little about her family and story. She had a daughter named Lily, which we had this in common. My face lit up as I tried to encourage this broken and desperate woman. I told her about Matthew 6:28 which is why I named my daughter Lily and about God's goodness and provision.She looked like she was listening and she nodded and smiled very politely.

She went on to tell us she was homeless and had cancer and needed chemo but can't afford it. She needed a ride to see her uncle "Spider" who was suffering from liver cancer. We only drove her a couple miles and I talked to her as I said what the Spirit told me to say. I felt terrible for her and my heart was very heavy. I did not feel like I had adequate words of comfort but I knew my God was adequate enough to solve any problem.

I felt like I had a connection with this poor soul and the Spirit began telling me to ask her to pray and to share Jesus with her. I asked Dixie to pray for her as tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes. Dixie's prayer was led by the Spirit and God's love and mercy was shown to this beautiful Snowflake. Another woman in the van as we spoke felt called to quietly collect money to give her. We presented her with an offering of love and as His grace, mercy and goodness filled the church van, Snowflake became more bold and candid with her thoughts.

Snowflake opened up as intense sin and experiences from her past came pouring out of her lips. She sobbed uncontrollably and clutched the arms of the church women sitting around her. As her story unfolded and she discussed drug addiction, prostitution, and loosing her daughter my heart was breaking and I internally prayed for my God to give me words and be present in this situation. Snowflake through the tears and pain admitted she had been trying to kill herself and she did not feel worthy to live. It was an intense moment for the entire group and the precious women I was with did not know what to say or do to comfort her.

I listened as she divulged even deeper sin and pain and I became concerned that she was not mentally stable as she confessed something none of us ever thought we would hear. Snowflake told us she had accepted the Lord 3 weeks earlier and He had forgiven her for her cannibalism. She said she doesn't eat people anymore and she was suicidal because she felt worthless, abandoned, and alone. She was confessing such intense, deep, heavy sin as she sobbed in the first row of our church van.

The Spirit pushed me hard to speak boldly, strongly, and with conviction. I told her she was not worthless. I told her she was beautiful in His eyes. I told her God loved her and had a purpose for her. I told her never to loose hope and to always cling to His goodness. I made her promise to go to a church or place where she could get help and get back on her feet. I testified to His goodness, grace and mercy. I reached out to her and spoke light into the darkest of situations and circumstances. I urged her become part of a Biblical community and made sure she understood if she did not seek help that Satan would try to drag her back down into the pit of shame and despair.

She promised me she would and another woman in our group gave her the Bible she just purchased and a book that could help guide her through the storms of life. She encouraged her to read it and allow God to speak to her through His word. As we spoke, Snowflake did not want to leave the safety and community she found in our van. I wanted desperately to do more, but her load was too heavy for us alone. Only Christ could provide what she truly needed and I felt the Spirit urging me to part ways and allow Him to continue the journey with her alone. We opened the door for Snowflake, she got out, and we drove away.

I am haunted by this experience. I have been facing so many difficulties not only in ministry but in life recently. I felt like if something could go wrong it had this past summer as Satan tried to discourage and derail our family from ministry but after my encounter with Snowflake I was brought to my knees with feelings of thankfulness and utter awe of God's goodness and provision towards my family.

The stories of brokenness she testified to resonated in my mind as I realized how naive and sheltered I truly am. I have chosen joy and celebration in hard times and know the healing power of claiming God's promises but to encounter such desperation and despair. Such loneliness and shame, I was left speechless in His presence wondering how we the church, His bride, are going to fix problems of such a catastrophic nature.  

I don't know how much truth there was in her story or if she was so plagued with mental illness she was not in touch with reality. Regardless, I know God provided an opportunity to love on the very least of these and our woman of faith were up for the task. God showed us a glimpse of His power and love for all mankind. He showed the the importance of having eyes to see and the courage to act when the Spirit is calling. He showed me how He used each of us through our giftedness in the moment and gave each of us an opportunity to show her God is real, alive, and in control. His love is strong enough to reach those in the darkest places and if we put our trust in Him, He is capable of rescuing us from the deepest of sins and situations.

Even now recalling the events of that evening give me chills. The protection and provision God showed our group is nothing short of a miracle. In His divine wisdom He took a church van full of house wives to minister to a homeless, suicidal, drug addict who claimed to be an ex-cannibal at a Casey's in downtown Lincoln, NE. It didn't hit me until later on that night how truly blessed and protected we were by God and His angels. This situation could have gone bad quickly but God in His mercy and grace kept us safe from harm and gave us the tools we needed to show compassion to Snowflake who was in a fragile and vulnerable state.

Looking back as I rock sweet Stella, I realize the world would consider us irresponsible and insane for doing what we did. We willing had an encounter with a very unstable woman who could have robbed, hurt, or even killed us but I am 100% certain this encounter was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. We were called by God to love on Snowflake and faithfully plant the seeds of love, compassion, grace and mercy in her soul. If we are not willing, are too scared, or full of excuses that prevent us from listening to the Spirit, the seeds are never sown. When the seed is not sown, it cannot bear a harvest and God cannot cultivate the fruit. His cleansing power and His unfailing love cannot be experienced or accepted unless the seed is originally sown.

So I celebrate the seed though insignificant at first, over time grows into a beautiful lush harvest.  I celebrate the power of prayer and God's protection when we need it the most. I celebrate how God is encouraging and empowering His people to claim mercy, live boldly, and dwell in the freedom that comes when Christ takes over your life. I celebrate eight women in a church van who listened to the call of the Master even when they didn't truly understand. For it is His hand that guides us and gives us the words to say as we lift up a broken world and say a prayer for a Snowflake.

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
~ James 2:14-20