Friday, October 18, 2013

Three.

The following day Kirk texted me and asked me what I was up to. This was unusual for him; never had he text me just to make conversation.He would only ever text me before if he had a purpose behind it, like asking me to hang out.I responded to his message pretty quickly and was curious of where this conversation was gonna go.Well, I can say one thing.It did not go very far.LoL, I don’t know why, but Kirk and I sure had trouble with holding conversations sometimes, especially when texting!He was never much of a texter.His responses were always relatively short and to the point, which I actually liked because I am not a big texter myself.Yet, I was excited that he was making an effort to talk to me and in the midst of the conversation we made some plans to get together again.He was going to be signing his lease for his duplex in Stillwater that upcoming weekend and I was going to be up there as well so that I could move my things from my apartment to my new house.I was excited the rest of the week thinking about how I was going to get to see him again.I was also a little troubled too though, because after spending that day with him out on the farm, even though most of it was great, I was still not seeing much of a change in Kirk.I was frustrated with how I had been praying for him for months now and not seeing anything come of it!The fact that he told me he wasn’t good enough for me and his mindset about not ever being able to change and turn from his current lifestyle also stirred in my mind. Actually it consumed my mind so much, even after praying about it, that I felt like God was leading me to confront him about it.I wasn’t sure how to do that though.I could bring it up in conversation but I can’t always count on my words to come out right so I thought I better write it out in the form of a letter.As I pulled out my laptop to type it up, the words came to me so easily.My hands were just flying across the keyboard and I knew this was the Holy Spirit taking over, giving me the words to write.It took me about an hour, but I finally got it written.It read:
“Kirk I have a lot of things I’ve wanted to say to you but I have not been sure about how to get it across to you in the right way.I’m not very good at speaking things out sometimes so I decided I better just write it down.If I don’t get this across to you somehow soon it’s gonna drive me crazy and by the time you finish reading this you might think I’m crazy anyways, but I’m not gonna let that stop me, so here it goes.
First of all, I wanted to tell you how excited I was that we met up again this past year and that we were able to reconnect after so long.I had no idea I would end up having such a good friend and I am so thankful for that.I’ve gotten to see what an amazing heart you have and that has given me a lot of hope for you because Proverbs 27:19 says that ‘the heart reflects the real person’ and that means the real you is pretty amazing.I know you think you are a bad person because of the mistakes you have made but you’ve got to stop believing that because it isn’t true. Your past does not define who you are and what you will become.
Kirk, I don’t know your whole past, and it doesn’t really matter because it’s not important.It really bothers me though that you think your past makes you not good enough for me. I may not have done the exact things you have, but I can guarantee you that I’m not anywhere close to perfect either. All of us have fallen short in some way or another.I don’t want you to think of yourself as anything less than the great person that you are.I wish you could see that in yourself the way I do.Yea, there may be a few things in your life that need to be changed but we all have things we need to work on.
The other day when I told you that you could make changes you asked me ‘Do you know how hard it is to change?’I didn’t really give you much of an answer to your question except to tell you that you frustrate me lol, but as I’ve had time to think about it more I can easily agree with you that yes it is pretty hard, especially if you try to change on your own strength and especially when it comes to dealing with issues that have been a part of your life for so long.It is not impossible though!Remember that you can do anything through Christ who will give you the strength to overcome.No, it may not be easy to fight against the desires of your flesh, but it’s so worth it. God is just standing by waiting for you to ask him for his help.He ‘knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust’ (Psalm 103:14) and because of that He knows we need his strength to overcome the things that we struggle with. Kirk, I believe that you can start making changes if you really wanted to.I’m not trying to pressure you to do so but I really hope you will eventually for your own sake.It’s so important to me that you know your decision of whether or not you wanted to start making changes does notaffect the way I care about or think of you though.I like you for who you are and where you are at.I just like you enough to want what’s better for you.Because of that, I can’t sit around and watch you make these destructive choices without saying anything at all.Remember that the‘thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy’ but God’s ‘purpose is to give you a rich and satisfying life’ (John 10:10).God wants to give you so much more than what you have chosen for yourself!It’s all up to you which road you want to pursue though. I want you to know that if you ever do decide that you want to try and put those things behind you, you wouldn’t have to do it alone.I would be right here to help and encourage you.‘A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer…’ (Ecclesiastes 4:12).Kirk, I don’t want to see the enemy steal from you anymore.You deserve much better out of life and that is the truth no matter what you think.Don’t let the devil deceive you anymore and drag you into the same old traps!
I know this might be a lot to take in and you may not know how to respond, but that’s okay.I just had to get all this across to you somehow.I care about you a lot and I’ll be praying for you as I already have been. God has laid you so heavy on my heart this past year.I’ve never had such a burden for someone in all my life.I haven’t much liked it either, I definitely didn’t ask for it and a few times I’ve even tried to ignore it.I’ve wanted to quit praying for you so many times because it hasn’t been easy, but every time I came so close to doing so, God always pushed me not to give up on you.He has big plans for you Kirk, ‘…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11).I can’t wait to see those plans played out in your life.I don’t know how saying all this might change your perspective of me, I may be risking a friendship right here and you might even think I’m crazy.I hope those things are not the case, but if they are I guess that’s okay.I had to take this risk anyway and be completely open with you.I want you to know that I treasure your friendship so much and I’ll always be here for you no matter what.Please don’t forget that! Lauren.”
I reread the letter about a million times after writing it and I decided I would give it to him that coming Saturday when we planned to meet up in Stillwater.The night before Saturday I was getting nervous about giving it to him though and started second guessing myself about going through with it or not.I knew deep down that’s what God was calling me to do, but I almost didn’t want to.Things were going in a good direction between me and Kirk and I knew giving him a letter like this could possibly jeopardize it all and maybe even scare him away from me for good, even just as friends! I was scared, I didn’t want to lose his friendship, but I also knew this was something God was leading me to do and it would be worse to disobey Him.It was brought to my mind that if I didn’t confront Kirk about this, what other friend of his would?I knew I had to take the risk and present this letter to him even if it meant that I might possibly lose his friendship, so that following Saturday I had the letter printed off and I put in an envelope with his name on it.I sat it on the counter in my kitchen along with his shirt that he had let me borrow to sleep in during the night I had stayed over during harvest and a package of fake bait (I had gone through so many of his when he took me fishing that I thought I better replace them).
Kirk showed up at my house mid afternoon that Saturday.As soon as he walked in we both said hi to each other, talked slightly, and then I asked him if he would like to see my house.I showed him the downstairs, my kitchen, bedroom and bathroom and then I took him upstairs to show him where my roommates would be living. He followed me around as I showed him everything, but once I ran out of things to show him I knew I probably better give him that letter and get it over with.We stood there talking at the top of the stairs when I finally told him “I have something I need to give you, wait here and I’ll be back.”He waited for me at the top of the stairs while I ran to the kitchen to grab the letter.As I climbed back up the stairs and met up with him once again, we both sat down on the top of the staircase and I handed it to him.He was surprised when he opened up the envelope.“You wrote me a letter?”“Yea,” I told him“there’s just been a lot on my mind that I have felt like I needed to tell you but not for sure how, so I just thought I’d just write it out.”He then began reading it as I sat next to him.I started shaking a little bit as he read it to himself.I was so nervous of how he would respond to it.When he finally finished it he turned to me and said “I don’t think you’re crazy” and then pulled me in to give me a hug.I was so relieved.I told him I was so nervous about giving that to him.He laughed and told me he could tell, mostly because he could see that I was still shaking from nervousness.I told him I was just so anxious about the way he would respond to it.“Did I respond to it in the right way?” he asked.I told him “I guess so,” I didn’t really know what to expect.As long as he wasn’t me kicking me to the sidelines I was okay.Kirk stayed with me the rest of the afternoon until he had to leave to make it back home in time for a family get together they were having that evening.When he was about to leave I followed him to the driveway so that we could say our goodbyes and then go our separate ways. We texted a few different times after that day but I wasn’t seeing much of a pursuit from Kirk any other way, even him texting me was not very common.Kirk and I didn’t hang out anymore that summer at all.I was disappointed because I really thought it might be going somewhere, but I knew that if it wasn’t going anywhere it was probably for good reason, even though I didn’t like it.He only made one other attempt to get together with me.He was coming to my hometown to go to an auction and sent me a text asking if I would like to maybe join him for lunch but at the time I was out of town volunteering as a camp sponsor at Falls Creek, so I was unable to.Even though I may not have been able to join him that day, I was glad Kirk had contacted me. It gave me some hope and I thought maybe when school started back up things between us might be able to progress a little more.In the meantime, I would just have to keep on trudging through this ordeal, not understanding a bit of it!
July 26, 2011… “‘…I was given a thorn in my flesh… Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need.My power works best in weakness.’So now I am glad to boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ can work through me.’ -2 Corinthians 12:7-9.
Father I feel like I can relate to Paul.These feelings that I have for Kirk, the ones I have asked You numerous times to take away (especially when I first began to recognize them coming on),feel like a thorn in my flesh.I realize now that one reason You allowed this to happen was so that Your power could and will work through me the most effectively.Lord, I pray that You would change my perspective about all this because at the moment I’m having a hard time seeing this thorn in my flesh in Your light.What my eyes first see when I look at these feelings You have given me for Kirk is something the enemy can and already has used against me.It’s something that makes fear and worry come into my life a little easier.I mean, think about it; if I didn’t care for Kirk on this deeper level I wouldn’t worry so much about his lifestyle choices and I would not give in so easily to the fears I have of being crushed as a result.Paul once said to the Corinthians ‘I am afraid I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins.You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure’ (2 Corinthians 12:21).Lord, when I go back to school I have the same fear about Kirk as Paul had about the Corinthians.Even the thought of him once again running full speed back into those sins once school starts makes me nauseous.This ‘thorn in my flesh’ makes the thought of that even more difficult to bear because it’s a lot more difficult to watch someone you care about make wrong choices than it is with someone you don’t have strong attachments to. I don’t have to give in to that fear though Father because even if Kirk does return to those sins he’s not going to stay there for long.How do I know that? I know because You placed a burden within me to intercede on behalf of Kirk and would not allow me to quit.You even placed confirmations before me left and right when I ran into doubts that You had really called me to pray for him.Father this has been a long on-going thing.A lot of time has been spent devoted to this.I know You would not have called me to devote the time and effort into praying for Kirk if You weren’t going to bring something out of it. Father I know the question is not if but when.I know revelation, healing, and spiritual awakening will come into Kirk’s life.I just don’t know when.Father, the evil one tries to make me doubt this when I fail to see the product of my prayers right away.Please protect me from that Lord because it’s a lie.You did not call me to pray for Kirk for my own gain. Sure, it’s been a test of faith and I am gaining through this situation but the main concern has always been about Kirk.Lord, You called me to it and You are always faithful so I believe that You are going to come through.Please protect me from the doubts, fears and frustrations that come my way during this period of waiting.Please help me to remember the question is not if You come through, but when You come through.Lord, I praise You that You are going to come through for me and for Kirk.You are already in the process.You are going to take away all the anguish and tears I have shed for Kirk and replace them with comfort.You are going to draw Kirk back to Yourself with great care and bring him back from the distant land of the enemy (Jeremiah 31).Oh Lord, I can hardly wait to see that day come to pass. Please work in his life quickly so that this day can come soon.As far as looking at current circumstances go Father, please no longer allow them to bring me down, for we are called to live by what we believe not by what we see (2 Corinthians 5:7) and I know that what You have lead me to believe should leave me only with joy and peace not concern and worry…”
As school came closer and closer I became more anxious for summer to end. I wanted to see Kirk and find out if my full summer of praying on his behalf had made an impact I could finally see.I hadn’t been hearing from him, so I was really curious.There was one night I did actually hear from him though before school began; it was on a Thursday at 2:36 in the morning!I obviously didn’t answer but he left me a voicemail that said “Hey I was just callin to see what you was doin.This is Kirk.I highly doubt your gonna call me back this late at night, but you get this… give me a shout.Bye.” I was so excited when I saw that he had called me.I replayed his voicemail over and over, but eventually I tried to make myself stop. I loved hearing from him and realizing that he had been thinking about me, but the fact that he called me at 2:36 in the morning wasn’t very promising.It was a pretty good indicator that he had been drinking, because had he been sober, he probably would not have called me at that hour.I tried to let my excitement subside.I was hopeful, but knowing how Kirk had disappointed me in the past, I was trying to be cautious and look out for myself emotionally.My relationship with him had just been such a roller coaster and I wasn’t sure how many more gut-wrenching falls I could take before crashing and burning.
The first week back to school was pretty eventful.On my second night back into Stillwater, I went out on the town with my friends Meagan and Jessica.We just wanted to get out and have some fun before school kicked off on Monday. While we were out, I ran into Kirk at a bar called Outlaws.He was drunk but when I saw him I gave him a hug and we talked just shortly.He told me I needed to call him the next day and we could hang out.I told him he could call me, but he responded by saying “No, I’ll probably forget.You call me.”Then I responded with, “Kirk, if you really want to see me, you will call me.”He just kind of laughed and said “Ok, well I gotta get going to find my ride, but I’ll talk to you later.”Then he gave me a peck on the lips and went on his way.
The next morning he texted me and this is how our conversation went:
Kirk: “Lunch?? My Treat.”
Me: “Sure that sounds great, I’d like that.”
Kirk: “Want to come over?”
Me: “Right now?”
Kirk: “Yup”
Me: “Ok, I am still a little grungy from being out last night, but give me an hour or so to get myself cleaned up and I’ll come over.”
Kirk:“Ok sounds good”
So anyways, I ended up going to his house right around lunch time.However, we never ended up going to lunch.As soon as I showed up at his house we ended up just watching a few movies. His roommates were in the living room using the TV in there, so we went back to his room to watch them.As soon as we got back there he cuddled me for most of the time.I didn’t really mind. I enjoyed him holding me tight.However, there were a few times where he tried to go a little further than what I wanted, doing things that I did not find appropriate.I kept telling him we couldn’t do those things but he kept trying to entice me to go further no matter how many times I told him I wouldn’t go there.I told him it was not right and tried to stop him when he would try but he kept throwing questions at me like “Why is it wrong?I’m not hurting you.”I really didn’t know what to say. I guess it was one of those things where you have a perfect response after the situation happens but when you’re in the middle of it you brain turns to mush and you can’t think of a word to say.After about 5 hours of being with him that afternoon we were both starving so we got in his pickup and headed to Sonic.The whole time we barely said a word to each other. If you didn’t know, it would seem like we were awkwardly just getting to know each other.I mean seriously, I hadn’t seen him all summer and we could barely hold a conversation.Everything was so surface level.When we got back to his house we ate our supper and then began another movie in the living room with his roommates, except he sat on the far other side of the room.It was kind of weird and I didn’t stay much longer. I had to leave to go to a meeting for my sorority but Kirk followed me out the door gave me a peck on the lips and told me to text him later.
As soon as I left his house I went straight to my friend Danna’s house and told her what had happened.She warned me that I could not let this go on any further.If I did, and I allowed for us to develop a relationship at this point in time I would only get my heart broken even more than what it would if I put a stop to it now.I knew she was right, but it was kind of hard for me to grasp.I had my hopes up that Kirk would have turned around over the summer and that by the time school started we would be able to develop our friendship in a different way, meaning having it Christ-centered and on a deeper level.Well it changed all right, but not in the way I wanted it to.Purely physical, that’s all it had become, at least for Kirk. The next day I wanted to meet up with Kirk so that I would be able to tell him that I think we might better put a stop to the physical stuff while we still could, because his friendship meant way too much to me for something like that to mess it all up.The last thing I wanted was to lose him as a friend, and I wanted so badly to get that across to him. So anyways, that morning I sent him a text asking him if he would like to go grab a snow cone with me later that night and he said “Maybe, I’ve got class until 5.”I said “that’s okay I was thinking more around 7:00” and he replied with “Ok, I’ll give you a shout later.”
Well, all day I played through my head what I wanted to say to Kirk over and over.I couldn’t really even pay attention in my classes because I was so nervous of how this was all going to turn out.About 6:00 that night I went over to Danna’s because I needed some prayer support before all of this took place, and I needed some help in calming my nerves.I ended up not having any reason for worry though, because 7:00 came around and I never heard from Kirk.I was crushed, but also somewhat relieved.It dawned on me that Kirk was no longer interested in pursuing me, most likely because he realized I was not the type of girl who would give in to his physical wants.I was relieved by this because if Kirk had no interest in continuing to pursue me, than I wouldn’t have to worry about addressing the physical things.I was also crushed though, because I realized that we couldn’t have much of a friendship anymore either.It broke my heart knowing that because I had invested so much into Kirk, especially prayer wise, and I just want him to be a part of my life so bad. It had become obvious though, that this would not be able to happen, at least in the meantime.Kirk’s had a lot of maturing to do, especially spiritually.We had two very different mindsets and ideas about things, we had very little in common because of that and this is what caused the conversations between us to be very shallow and almost non-existent.We could barely talk to each other about anything. If we did talk about stuff it was about alcohol.I could only talk about that for so long before I got tired of it, but unfortunately it had been such a big part of Kirk’s life that that is about all he ever came up with to converse about.Really, I think Kirk liked to keep conversations surface level anyways. Going deep, I had noticed wasn’t really a comfortable thing for him to do. Sometimes I found myself wondering if he could even go there.
Well anyways, the week went on and I tried my best to put everything behind me.I told myself it was all for the best and tried to move on.College Fest was the next time I saw Kirk, which was just a few days later.I went out there with Danna Zoe and Meredith when I saw a glimpse of Kirk as we walked past him towards the hill where we girls liked to go and sit while listening to the concert.I had my head turned away from him though, talking to Meredith so it would seem as if I didn’t see him.In my prayer Journal I commented about that instance saying…
“Father I don’t know how I get myself into situations like this? It’s so frustrating and gut-wrenching.I hate feeling like I have to ignore someone I care so much about.I mean it’s not like I’m head over heels in love with this boy but I have a very deep compassionate love for him.What makes it even harder is knowing that this compassionate love was placed in my heart by You!You placed this very strong within me and had me pray intently on his behalf.I just can’t help but wonder sometimes Father, when is it going to get easier? When are the prayers said on his behalf going to come through?When is Kirk going to realize the life he is living is destructive and turn back to You to find fulfillment?Will I ever be able to have a meaningful friendship with Kirk?I want all of these things for him so badly Lord.I want him to know You.I want the enemy to lose his grip over him.Lord, I know Kirk has to decide for himself that he wants those things too though before they will happen.The enemy keeps trying to tell me my prayers have been in vain and have been pointless because he has built such a strong hold on Kirk that Kirk would never even want to leave his grip.I know those are lies though Father.If that was the case You would have not had me waste my time in praying for him.You are so much stronger than any stronghold in Kirk’s life and You can change even what seems to be even the most hopeless of lives.Nothing is impossible for You. Plus, Kirk has a lot going for him.He’s got a strong Christian family that loves him. He has the foundation that they have provided for him, and he has the prayers of not only his family, but others too. Lord, I believe what Your word says in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is NOT in vain.”Father, I truly believe that.Not one single prayer or outreach to Kirk (such as that letter You prompted me to write and give to him this summer) has been in vain!I hold to that truth no matter what the enemy tries to tell me.He is a LIAR! He is the father of lies and You on the other hand are nothing but TRUTH.Please forgive me Lord, for even giving a second thought to the thoughts he has placed in my head, allowing him to make me doubt. Father, I thank You for the uplifting hope that can be found through You; and not just a hope that lingers as if it might occur, but a hope that we can be certain of.You have a plan for this situation Lord, it is obviously not completed yet but I know You will bring it to fruition, because once again, nothing done in Your name is pointless! You will come through in Your way and in Your timing.Please continue to give me patient endurance as I wait on You Father.I know it is what I need to continue to follow in Your will so that I may eventually receive all that You have promised (Hebrews 10:35-36).”
Anyways, back to that night of College Fest…I was sitting on the hill with Meredith and Danna when a friend from my hometown, Alberto, came walking by.He came over and talked with me for a little while and then I left with him to see some other people from back home who were out there with him that night.As we were standing there Kale walked by.I hollered at him as he did, and he turned and smiled when he saw that it was me. Kale then came over and gave me a hug and started small talking with me.I wanted to continue talking with him even more as he was starting to go on, but he was headed back over to where Kirk was and I told Kale I wasn’t sure if I should see Kirk that night.I wasn’t sure if I was in good standings with Kirk and I wanted to avoid any awkward encounters with him.I then proceeded to tell Kale a summary of what happened between Kirk and I.Kale told me I should just stay away from him; He said Kirk was “Bad News.”For a relationship, I would have to agree with him.Kale and I had a Kirk venting session and hung out for most of that Friday night. I did see Kirk once while I was hanging out with Kale.However, he probably didn’t remember.He was wasted, but he gave me a hug regardless.
The next night I went out with Danna and Meredith once again to the final night of College Fest.The crowd compared to the night before was basically non-existent.There was hardly anyone out there.I did see Kirk though.At first I tried to ignore him, but there is no way I wanted to go through what I went through the year before with him.It was hurtful when both of us began pretending that the other did not exist. So trying to avoid that, I sucked it up and thought I better go say hi.When I eventually did, he wasn’t stand offish but it was still a little weird.After small talking for a little bit I left his area and went on my own way.Later that night, I met up with him again though.I kept noticing how he would go from person to person trying to strike up a conversation.I also noticed that all the guys he had come out there with were no longer there, so I finally went up to Kirk and asked him what he was up to.He said that everybody had left him.Every one of the guys that he came out there with was gone and here was Kirk so drunk he could barely stand up straight!It made my stomach turn just thinking about it.I then asked him, “Well how are you getting home?”“I got my keys,” he said.My response was “Umm No, I don’t think so.You can ride home with me.”I got him to agree with me on that, and he told me I could meet him inside later when it was time to go.
Well I don’t know what I was thinking but I let him go off on his own.As I was sitting on that hill with Danna and Meredith my brain finally kicked in though and I realized that he had his keys in his pocket and could try to leave anytime he wanted to.Once I thought of that I went back out into the crowd trying to find him, but couldn’t see him anywhere.I finally gave up and started to head inside the Tumbleweed, hoping I could find him in there.I was on my way inside when I noticed him sitting on a picnic table by himself, cigarette in one hand, a pitcher of beer in the other.I was so relieved that I had found him. I went over and asked him what he was doing and he told me he was just listening to some Pat Green.I then asked him for his keys but he would not give them to me, he said he wouldn’t until it was time to go.I guess he thought I would make him leave before the concert ended.So anyways, we ended up sitting on the picnic table for about 30 minutes.I got to listen to him sing along with Pat Green, which was pretty entertaining!I also got to watch him ride a mechanical bull that he insisted on riding before we left, that was pretty entertaining too, although it didn’t last very long!
It was kind of hard to watch him that night, as it had been many times before.It never became easy watching him make such destructive choices for himself, especially knowing he actively chose to make those decisions on purpose, not seeing the danger in it all, or if he did, not caring either way.By the end of the concert, I had Kirks arm wrapped around my shoulder so that he would be able to walk and we started heading for the parking lot.He finally gave me his keys and I drove his pickup to my house.When we got there he made me give him his keys back.I was nervous about doing that because I didn’t want him trying to leave my house in the state he was in.He told me he would not go to sleep until I gave him his keys though, and promised me that he wouldn’t leave.Well, I gave him his keys back trying to avoid conflict with him and prepared a place for him on the couch in my living room.He crashed before I could really get it ready though, so I slipped off his boots, put a blanket over him, and tucked a pillow beneath his head before I headed back to my room.I slept with my door open that night.I wanted to be able to hear Kirk if he attempted to leave. I was concerned for him and I wanted to do my best to take care of him the best that I could. I was glad that I had the opportunity to take care of him that night and I hoped by doing so Kirk would realize that no matter what he had done, even blowing me off completely just a few days before, did not affect the way I cared about him.I had a feeling this wasn’t going to change much though.I figured the next day he would leave and he would still push me aside.I ended up being right too.After Kirk left my house that next morning I didn’t really hear from him at all afterwards. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go from there…
“Lord, what concerns me right now is the question of how am I to respond to Kirk?I know that I will see him around every once in a while around Stillwater.I can’t avoid him completely, nor do I want to. I want to continue to be his friend, I don’t want to destroy my witness for You, and I want to be able to demonstrate Your love to him through myself.Lord, I know the way I attempted to show Your love to him before is probably not the way You would like me to though.Please correct me and show me how to bring the expression of Your love through me in the right way.Father, please direct my actions and words as I come into contact with him and help me not to fall into any traps laid out before me.Please do not let it become awkward at all, but help us to be comfortable around each other.Father, even though right now is obviously not the time to develop a strong friendship with Kirk, I pray that You would bless and protect the friendship that we have currently.Protect it Lord, from the attacks from the enemy and help me to be the type of friend You intend for me to be for him.Lord, I thank You that You bend down Your ear to listen and that You care, that You are concerned.Thank You Lord for setting things in place already to bring about answers to these prayers.Thank You for loving me.Thank You for loving Kirk.Thank You for being interested in every detail of our lives.Speak clearly to us Father and let us see Your hand move in our lives. Please forgive us both for sinning against You.Please purify us with the blood You have shed.Purify us from all unrighteousness and redeem us of every consequence.Father, I hurl down the accuser who is making accusations against us using the word of our testimony, which says we have been redeemed by the sacrifice in which You made on our behalf.Lord, I am not for sure where to go from here.I almost feel as if I had somewhat of a release from this whole situation, but not completely.Kirk still crosses my mind pretty often, I even have dreams about him, and going to the farm doesn’t help me out much either. Lord, I will continue to pray for him, but otherwise I am not sure what steps to take because this has not turned out the way I was expecting it to.I need Your direction Father.I cannot see where my life is going, or what will come of all of this.Please “Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do, and I will obey You faithfully; teach me to serve You with complete devotion” (Psalm 86:11) I want the best for Kirk in this situation and also for myself and I know that can only come about by following Your leading.Please speak to me Father, give me Your Holy Spirit’s nudge and help me to clearly recognize Your voice.Lord, I truly love You and thank You for playing such a huge part in my life.I ask all that I have in the name of Yeshua and by the power of his shed blood.May Your glory be shown Father.–Amen.”

Four.

The next few months of school were hard to go through. Kirk and I didn’t really talk anymore at all and that was devastating for me. We would pass each other on the street every now and then but we never really would say much to each other. Usually I would give him a half smile and wave and he would respond with a head nod. It was tough having Kirk push me away. One night, I saw him at Outlaws though and was able to confront him about it. We had run into each other there, so I was able to talk to him for a little bit, even though he was drunk at the time. While talking with him, I asked him why we were no longer hanging out. I told him, “I feel like you don’t even want anything to do with me anymore.” He asked me why I would even think such a thing, like I was foolish for even asking him that. I was glad to hear him respond that way, but with him being wasted I could only take it to heart so far. It was disappointing, and that night our conversation didn’t last long before he kissed me on the forehead and went on his way. I knew Kirk pushing me aside was not because he didn’t care about me anymore though, it was because we had conflicting views on what a relationship should be like. We found that out pretty quickly as soon as our friendship started to develop into something more. Our standards were definitely different and once we found that out, everything seemed to go downhill. I guess it’s always hard to go backwards in a relationship once you go past certain points and since we had both made it evident that we liked each other and acted on it, it would be hard to go back to being strictly friends, so I guess Kirk thought it would just be easier to cut me out of his life all together. It was crushing but I knew if it was happening this way, there was reason behind it. I kept my hopes up though, because I knew that if God had me praying for Kirk to the extent that He had, He was eventually going to answer them and bring about a turnaround in Kirk. I knew whenever that turnaround came I could expect a new type of relationship between Kirk and myself to come about too. Reminding myself of this is what kept me going from day to day. It was also encouraging to me when an incident came about that gave me assurance that Kirk still cared for me. My grandma had passed away that late September and when Kirk found out he sent me a text message that read, “I’m sorry to hear about your grandma. We are praying for you.” I had been doing great all day when it came to holding myself together over the loss of my grandma but when I read that message from Kirk I just broke down. I sent him a reply saying, “Thank you Kirk. I really appreciate that!” Kirk did not have to send me anything at all, but he did, and I knew, just from that small gesture, that he really did still care for me, even if he was pushing me away at the moment.
When I went to my grandma’s funeral I saw Jimmie and Shelly, Kirk’s parents, there. They came up to me after the service and spoke with me for awhile, telling me some things they remembered about my grandma and then hugging me and telling me they loved me before they left. It was hard to hear that from them. Everything about Kirk that I was trying to suppress and put behind me welled right back up to the surface after running into them. I felt somewhat bad but after seeing them there and hearing them tell me that they loved me, I went home and cried over Kirk more than I did my grandma.
The day after my grandma’s funeral I had to return to Stillwater so I could get back to my classes again. I was an emotional basket case that whole day. That morning as I was laying in my bed, I knew I couldn’t lay there for long. I had to get myself up and going or I would end up moping all day. So in effort to try and put all this behind me once again, I dragged myself out of bed, fixed myself up and headed for campus about an hour earlier than normal. I knew it would not be in my favor to stay around the house. If I only knew what would happen when I got to campus though… Right as I got to the crosswalk to cross the street I noticed Kirk was on the other side. That darn crosswalk! It never failed that it would lead me to cross paths with Kirk right when I didn’t want to! I tried to hold myself together when I saw him, but like I said I was a basket case that day, so as soon as Kirk and I came into contact with each other, right there in the middle of a busy intersection, I said his name and just started bawling! Poor Kirk! I did my fair share of embarrassing him by breaking down on him in public. He lead me out of the street and gave me a hug while I stood there and cried. I didn’t even say anything to him before he said, “It’s okay. She’s in a better place.” I just responded by saying, “I know” and kept crying. He had no earthly idea that I was not crying over my grandma at all; I was crying over him! I didn’t let him in on that though, it would be best if he thought I was crying over my grandma, so that’s what I let him believe. My legs were shaking so much as I stood there in the middle of the sidewalk. Kirk talked to me for a little while. I asked him if maybe we could hang out later, but when I did he said “Well, I’ve sort of have started to talk to someone.” I responded with, “So? That doesn’t matter. Why does that mean we can’t be friends anymore?” He didn’t know how to respond to that, but he had to go so he told me to text him later. Then he crossed the street and we both went our separate ways. I felt pretty foolish for breaking down on him like that. I hate it when my emotions get the best of me and make me do crazy things. I apologized to Kirk later and he responded by telling me it was fine and not to worry about it. We never did hang out again though, and I had to continue to try and suppress my feelings all while still praying for him, though not to the extent that I had that summer. I just couldn’t do that anymore. It was tearing me up! 
I didn’t talk to Kirk in person for the rest of that semester. We texted a couple of times after that but not very much. Before I knew it though, it was Christmas break and that semester was over. I remember thinking,“Lord, please get hold of Kirk soon. I don’t know if I can return to school and go through another semester like this.” I wouldn’t have to either…
It was only a few days into Christmas break, December 17th to be exact, when I received a text message from one of my good friends Danna. She said “Hey is something wrong with Kirk?” As soon as I read that, I was puzzled and called her immediately. When she answered I asked, “Danna, why did you ask me that?” She then proceeded to tell me that she saw a status of a friend of hers on facebook that mentioned something about praying for Kirk and his family. I had no idea what that was about so as soon as I got off the phone with Danna, I immediately called Kale, Kirk’s younger brother, to figure out what was going on. When Kale answered he told me that Kirk had died earlier that day, but was able to be resuscitated and was now in ICU at OU Medical Center. Apparently Kirk had been helping his grandpa and dad out in the fields that morning and while they were out there his grandpa noticed that Kirk’s tractor was not coming around like it normally would. He and Jimmie then went to go check on Kirk to make sure that everything was okay and when they did they found him slumped down in the cab of his tractor. It looked as if he had passed out. They then tried to pull Kirk out of the tractor, although it was hard because his feet got caught underneath the breaks, and began to check for vitals. Kirk had no heartbeat. Jimmie began doing chest compressions until the ambulance was able to get there, but from the time they found him to the time the ambulance arrived and resuscitated him it had been at least 30 minutes, meaning he had been dead for at least half an hour, maybe longer. 
When I got off the phone I felt numb. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I starting tearing up and shaking and couldn’t get myself to stop. The strange thing was, I already felt like I had experienced this before in a dream that I had of Kirk just a few months prior. It was the first thing I thought of when Kale was telling me about all this too, and it was all I could think about after hanging up with him. I had recorded that dream in a prayer journal of mine, but I had left it in Stillwater. I was restless as I thought more and more about it and I knew I had to go up there to look it up and read what I had written down. My parents really weren’t happy with me leaving at 10:30 that night to go to Stillwater by myself, but I was gonna go crazy if I didn’t so I jumped in the car and drove to my house. As soon as I got there, I ran to my room, shuffled through my closet and finally found the journal I had recorded that dream in. It was all too real for me as I read it, I couldn’t believe how exact it was to the reality of that current moment. As I read through it, tears just streamed down my face. This is what I had written:









I read this journal entry over and over. This dream was no longer just a dream anymore. It was unfortunately reality, everything was happening just like in my dream, right down to my very emotions! I couldn’t help but to be excited about what was happening. I knew that God was finally bringing an answer to my prayers, waking Kirk up, and starting the process of turning him around! I was also scared though, because I knew losing him was a strong possibility and just imagining that tore me to pieces. 
The rest of the night I prayed continually on Kirk’s behalf until I couldn’t keep myself awake anymore and finally crashed. I was just mind blown at what was happening. The next day, I went home and my mom and I went to the hospital to visit Kirk. I was able to go back to his room to see him. It was more difficult than I thought it would be though. Kirk was hardly responsive at all. In order to reduce swelling on his brain they had to lower his body temperature significantly and place him under a medically induced coma. When I went in I grabbed his hand and talked to him for a little bit. I didn’t know what exactly to say, and I felt somewhat silly because I knew he couldn’t respond back to me, but I was told that he could hear me so I prayed over him and made sure to tell him that I loved him before I left. My heart was just breaking as I saw him in that state. I know I had prayed for a wake up call in Kirk’s life, but I was hoping it would not have to come in such a drastic way.

Five.

After leaving Kirk’s room, I met my mom back out in the lobby area. A lot of people were there to visit Kirk and the hallway was filled with his family and friends. While standing there I told my mom that I really wanted to tell Shelly about my dream and about everything that God had me do for Kirk that past year and a half. With all the people around she said she didn’t know if this would be the best time for that, but she also told me that if this was something I really felt like God was prompting me to do I should pray and ask for an opportunity; so right then and there that is exactly what I did and within minutes Shelly looked over my way and made a beeline for my mom and myself. I was too choked up with tears to get any words to come out of my mouth when she approached, so my mom chimed in for me and let Shelly know that there was something I would really like to show her if she thought she could spare the time. Shelly didn’t hesitate to say that she would like to see what I had to share with her, and soon after she followed my mom and I down to the parking lot. All three of us climbed into the backseat of my car and I let her read the entry in my prayer journal about the dream I had had. I also shared with her about the burden I had been carrying on behalf of Kirk for the past year. I told her I didn’t understand why, but now it was all beginning to make sense. Shelly just cried as I shared all this with her, and I cried right along with her. She told me she couldn’t thank me enough for everything I had been doing on Kirk’s behalf and that I was an answered prayer even though I may not have known it. She explained that her and Jimmie had been worried about Kirk for quite awhile, but as his parents there was only so much they could say before he would shut them out, so they had been praying for someone or something to come into his life and be the intercession he needed. I was amazed when Shelly shared this with me. I was humbled to know that of all people God chose me to be used as a tool in Kirk’s life, that He chose me to be a part of the answer to Jimmie and Shelly’s prayers. We probably stayed in my car talking everything over for about a half hour or more before we finally went back into the hospital. I wanted to see Kirk once more before my mom and I left so Shelly and my mom went back there to see him with me. I grabbed his hand and once again just prayed over him. As I did, I could see the white in Kirk’s eyes. It was like he was trying to open his eyes so badly and respond to me as I prayed over him, but he couldn’t. Once I was done, I told Kirk bye and my mom and I headed home. It was one of the hardest times of my life, knowing that someone I cared about so much was fighting for their life and there was little I could do about it. I prayed constantly. Kirk was all I could think about.
The day after Christmas, my mom and I made a trip to the city once more to visit Kirk. He looked worse off than the time I had seen him before. His eyes were halfway opened but he wasn’t blinking so they had some type of ointment coated all over them to keep them from drying out. He was also pretty swollen and had wires coming out of him everywhere that they possibly could. He was supposed to be out of his coma by this time, and I was hopeful that I may have been able to see a more responsive Kirk but when they tried to bring him out of his first coma he had begun having seizures, so they had to put him under once again! This visit with Kirk was very short. I didn’t get to see him for long, but I was glad I was able to have the chance to be around him for the short amount of time that I did. When we left the hospital I just started crying, it was becoming more and more real to me that Kirk might not make it. I didn’t want to believe that though. God promised me a harvest of blessing and I couldn’t imagine the harvest including Kirk being taken away from me. My mind kept going back to the verse found in Psalm 126:5-6 which says, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” I had done my share of weeping, I had been sewing my seeds of prayer on Kirk’s behalf, and I could not imagine reaping Kirk’s physical death as my harvest that I returned with singing! I knew if Kirk was taken I would be reaping even more tears. I presented this to God, reminding him of the promise He had given me, and I thought about it everyday as I kept up with the updates on Kirk. On December 31, 2011 I read an update that Kale had written I did not want to hear. He had said “We got results from an MRI yesterday and the brain damage is too severe. Kirk will not be able to progress from the point he is at right now. He is breathing on his own, and they have everything unhooked from him. We do not know a time frame at this point…” Apparently, from some blood work they also found out that this all happened because a very rare infection had settled in Kirk’s heart, an infection that comes from a virus known as coxsackie. This virus is so rare that it is barely in the books, 1 out of a million people even get it and out of those 1 in a million that do, hardly any of them are even affected by it! As soon as I heard all this I went into denial. I just could not accept that Kirk would not progress. I wanted so badly to believe that he had to! Unfortunately though, just a few days later on January 2nd Kirk finally got tired of fighting and passed away. I’ll never forget that day. I felt like my own life had just been sucked out of me and my heart had been smashed into a million pieces. I can’t even explain that type of hurt, it’s one that stings you and doesn’t really ever seem to go away. It’s a type of pain I hope I will never have to experience again …
January 3, 2012… “Father, I really just don’t know where to start. I’m at a loss for words and have been ever since I received the news that Kirk took his last breath yesterday morning. Lord, my heart is just so broken. I’ve never experienced grief like this in all my life. All throughout the day yesterday I went through spells of just being gripped immensely with it. I was crying so heavy I could barely catch my breath and when I wasn’t doing that I was either throwing up or yelling out in frustration. Father, I’m still beside myself. It’s three in the morning and I’m still awake because my mind won’t let me rest. I feel like my heart has just been crushed. I know Your way is perfect Father, but that does not mean it is easy to accept. God I need Your comfort. I need Your help so desperately. The burden You placed within me on behalf of Kirk caused a love for him to grow within me that I’ve never had for anyone else. Lord, You knew this would happen from the day You placed that burden there. I carried it Lord, now please carry mine. I feel so desperate and I need Your intervention. You know Father, this is not the way I pictured the harvest to be. I pictured it more like Kirk being awakened spiritually and maybe becoming my CCC [Cute, Country, Christian boy that I’ve always had my heart set on]. So much for that dream, because obviously You had something different in mind. The harvest was gaining Kirk’s soul for Your kingdom. If I had not answered Your call to pray on his behalf would You have allowed him to come back after dying the first time to receive that second opportunity to get right with You? Lord, I am so thankful that You gave life to his spirit once more after being dead for at least thirty minutes so that he could have that one last opportunity to get right with You. Although I never got to hear it from his lips or see it in this life, I trust that he was changed in his last days and returned to You! I know that was a tremendous harvest, a tremendous blessing in itself and I will get to experience that harvest fully when I get to meet up with him once again the day You call me home too. Father, Your word says in Luke 10:6 that “…The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” I thank You Lord that You gave me the opportunity to be one of the workers, to harvest Kirk for Yourself. I am so honored to have been given the chance to be used by You!”
I was thankful that God finally brought an answer to my prayers, although I still had to fight through some disappointments because it definitely did not end up the way I expected it to. I never would have imagined that Kirk’s turnaround would also be accompanied with his physical death! I also fought with doubts, wondering things like, ‘If Kirk was brain dead how would he have been able to ask God to forgive him, and repent for the sins he willingly pursued? I brought this up to my mom one night as I was thinking about this and she reminded me that it’s not our physical bodies that communicate with God, it’s our spirit and Kirk’s spirit was fully capable of repenting and setting things right. This gave me some assurance but I still wished I had something more to hold onto. It wasn’t long after Kirk passed away though, that God gave me something that I could grasp…
January 12, 2012… “Dear Lord, I just woke up from the best dream and I wish so badly I did not have to wake up from it! I was at a baseball game and I must have been working it to keep stats because I had a box all to myself. But anyways, before the game started I heard that Kirk was there, so I rushed over to another box to see if I could see him. As I rushed over, sure enough he was there! I ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug I could and I told him, ‘I’m so glad you’re back!’ He didn’t say much at first, he just stood there and let me hug him. When he finally did talk though he said, ‘ My lungs had collapsed…’ He said it like he was in shock. There was something different about Kirk that I noticed when I was around him. He was somewhat quiet and a lot more observant. It was like he knew he should not be alive anymore, was in shock that all this had happened to him and his mind was still trying to process it all and take everything in. As I stood there I told him that when we could get a chance I would really like to show him something, (referring to all my written prayers I had ever written on his behalf so that what was happening now would be brought about). After saying that to him though he didn’t give me much of a response. The next words out of his mouth were, ‘I’ve been a hypocrite. [Through my actions] I’ve said that I don’t know God and I have said that He isn’t my Father.’ I thought it was kind of strange the way he had phrased it, but I knew what he meant. He was referring to the way he had been living. The choices he had been making spoke very loudly for him and I knew that’s what he meant by saying what he did. As I was still standing there with my arms around him I looked up at him and asked, ‘Well has that changed?’ He looked back at me, gave me a smile and shook his head yes. After that I layed my head against his chest, hugged him tighter and said, ‘I love you Kirk.’ He hugged me back and said ‘I love you.’ Though all of this seemed great, the whole time I was with Kirk he seemed somewhat saddened on my behalf. It was like he didn’t want me to cling so tightly to him because he knew he couldn’t stay… I woke up from this dream with tears streaming down my face Lord. I didn’t want to let Kirk go. I was so thankful for this dream though because it seemed so real and it’s the type of ending to all this that I was hoping to experience in real life but never did. Lord, I thank You for allowing me to have this dream. It has given me the closure I have been needing in all of this. How amazing it was to hear from Kirk himself that he had been changed, that he now knows You fully, and that he now accepts You as his Father, knowing that he is Your child. Lord, I know I did not hear these things in real life, but it almost seems like I did because this dream felt so real to me. It seemed as real as the one I had of Kirk being in the hospital that I had a few months back. Father because of that I know this dream is no different. It is one that You have given me and I am so thankful for it! Although it hurt to let Kirk go, I am so happy for him. Father, thank You for answering my prayers on behalf of him. Thank You also for giving me even more assurance that he made it home. I am beyond grateful for this harvest of blessing! –Galatians 6:9”
I was so grateful to have had this second dream. I told a few people about it after it happened and more than one suggested to me that this was probably more than a dream, but more of a spiritual encounter. The more I thought about this suggestion, the more I believed that was probably right. It was a way for Kirk’s spirit to communicate with mine to tell me himself that he had been changed and that he made it home. Kirk, now fully knowing what I went through on his behalf, probably chose to meet up with me in this way to give me the assurance he knew I needed to hear about him. One thing that really made me think that this was probably more than just a dream was because of where this encounter with Kirk occurred…at a baseball game! Kirk doesn’t really like baseball but he knows I love it and if it was up to him, he probably had us be at a baseball game for that reason. It reminded me of a time I was once hanging out with Kirk over at his apartment. I wasn’t feeling real good that particular day so Kirk put a pillow in his lap, layed my head down, played with my hair, and put on the movie “Rookie of the Year” for us to watch, trying to make me feel better. There were many movies he could have picked, but knowing it was a baseball movie, he thought I would enjoy that one. 
When Kirk first passed away, for the next few days I sort of just zoned out into my own little world. All I could get myself to do was read my prayer journals again and again, getting lost in all the things I had written over Kirk. The more I read, the more I was able to see how the things I couldn’t understand or make sense of for so long, finally did. One thing I now understood was why God allowed for my heart to get so wrapped up in Kirk. He intended for that to happen because if I had not grown to love Kirk in the way that I did, my prayers on his behalf would not have been as heartfelt as God wanted them to be. My prayers needed to have the power of love behind them, because love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8), and we couldn’t afford to lose this battle on Kirk’s behalf! As I continued to read through my prayer journals, one thing that I also began to realize was how the number three showed up numerous times during this whole situation. This is what really blew me away and gave me the most assurance that God was most definitely in the midst of all of this! The number 3 showing up is important because I have been taught that God uses numbers to show that His hand is in something. We can look to scripture to find examples. For instance the number three shows up many times when we look at the life of Jesus and God’s plan of salvation:
· Jesus went into hiding up to the age of 30 and then preached the gospel for 3 years.
· He was denied 3 times by Peter.
· He fell 3 times while carrying the cross.
· Three of them were crucified that day with 3 nails each.
· Darkness fell over the earth at noon and lasted for 3 hours, at which Christ died at 3:00
· Three days later he arose and is now a part of the 3 part trinity.
The number 3 showed up many times in this situation with Kirk:
· We reconnected our 3rd year of college and my 3rd semester at OSU (I had gone to OBU my freshman year.)
· Kirk and I were at OSU together, and the trial lasted, for 3 full semesters.
· He was my 3rd Kiss
· When initially wanting to forget about Kirk, 3 different instances were used to bring him back to my mind, so that I would not be able to escape him and instead feel compelled to continue to make him a part of my life: (Hale Family Christmas, Driving past Kirk’s road, Hearing about him while getting my teeth cleaned)!
· After talking with my friend Jill that one night and her telling me about the significance of Pentecost, I looked on my calendar to see how far away it was just for kicks and it was 3 weeks and 3 days away! (Remember that I then fasted that entire time up until the day of Pentecost.)
· There were 3 times over the course of this trial that I felt lead to fast for Kirk.
· (THIS IS WHERE I AM BEYOND AMAZED!) Pentecost was June 12th this past year and if you look back at my prayer journal entry, where I was given that dream about Kirk being near death, it is dated September 12, 2011, EXACTLY 3 months to the day after Pentecost; 3 months to the day that I had just finished up my 3 week 3 day fast!
· Then if you look at the day I had that dream, September 12th, and count over exactly 3 months and 3 weeks away you will notice that you come to January 2, 2012, the day Kirk went home!
· Then if you count from January 2nd, you will notice that 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days later is April 26, 2012, which would have marked Kirk’s 22nd birthday.
You can take all this as you want, but this is proof to me right here that God’s hand was most definitely the one orchestrating this whole trial I went through on behalf of Kirk! The way the 3’s showed up and the way I had that dream that depicted EXACTLY what would eventually happen just three months later, leaves no room in my mind that these things were just somehow all a coincidence… there is NO WAY that they could be! It was God at work and confirmation for me to know that for sure! God has revealed himself to me in many ways through this situation. He has shown me how He works, how He speaks to us, how He desires for us to pray continually and how He wants us to trust Him fully in the midst of things we may not understand, because even when we can only see what’s in front of us, He sees the bigger picture. Most importantly though, God really made it clear to me that He desires for us to obey Him! In this case, obeying Him meant praying for Kirk even though I had no clue why I was supposed to. I really had no idea! The question of why God was burdening me for Kirk to the extent that He was crossed my mind a million times. I eventually came to the conclusion in the middle of all of this that God was placing Kirk on my heart to the extent that He was so that Kirk would become my CCC (Triple C), the Cute, Country, Christian boy that I’ve always had my heart set on having one day. I know that might sound silly but that was the only thing I could come up with. Yet, to my surprise, that was not God’s purpose for having me pray for Kirk at all; it was to make sure that Kirk would be prepared to go home. In Hebrews 10: 26 it says, “For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us.” The truth had been made known to Kirk before, and at one point in his life he had accepted it, but it was evident through his life choices that he had strayed away quite a bit. If you can remember, that night at Calf Fry Kirk told me that he was purposely going after these sins in his life because he enjoyed them, he found pleasure in them, and most definitely had no intention of turning from them. According to this verse in Hebrews 10 though, that was not in his favor, and God obviously wanted to take care of that! I’m so glad He did too! I just can’t imagine where I would be today, had I not obeyed God, had I not continued to pray for Kirk after all those times of wanting to stop so badly. I probably would not be able to live with myself, now knowing the reason behind it all. I mean really, what if I had not obeyed? How would things have turned out differently? Would God still have spared Kirk’s life a little longer so that he would have that second chance to set things right or would He have gone ahead and taken Kirk for good that very first time he died? I have no idea how things would have turned out differently had I not prayed. What I do know, is that I am so glad that I did! I was obedient to the calling on my heart to intercede for Kirk, even when it got tough, and now because of that, I can live without regrets, that I probably would have had to otherwise.
There still is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Kirk. I replay the times I spent with him over and over again in my head. I treasure every moment I got to spend with him. I never would have imagined that first night at College Fest, when I first ran into him, that he was going to make such an impact on my life. God used Kirk to change me as a person, one changed for the better and I am so thankful for that. One of the greatest changes brought about within me from all of this is a deeper connection with my Savior. Had it not been for this trial my relationship with Christ would not be where it is now. It has deepened to a level I was not even close to before all this happened and that to me is a huge blessing in itself! I only hope that I get to continue to see God’s hand move so evidently in my life. Once you’ve seen it, it’s something you never want to see stop! Even when I don’t see His hand evidently though, I know I can trust that He is continuing to work in my life. He’s interested in every part of it, every tiny detail, and I can trust him wholeheartedly to bring something great out of it; just as he already has! 
I have written this testimony down for many reasons. For one, I want to be able to look back on all this and be able to recall how God has been faithful in my life but more importantly I want to be able to share this story with others. Psalm 105:1 says, “Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” I want to do exactly that. I want to tell people exactly what God has done in my life on behalf of Kirk in order to proclaim His greatness. I truly believe God did not allow this to happen in my life so that I could keep it all to myself. It was meant to be shared, to reveal the things God has done, and to bring Him glory. Last but not least, I have also written this in memory of a very special person who completely changed my life and the way I look at it, the one I grew to cherish and love no matter how many hard things he put me through, and the one I can hardly wait to see again. Living without Kirk physically here is a struggle. But I am thankful to know that I will get to see him again, and when I do it will be the new Kirk, the one completely turned from his sin that I had been praying for! Hopefully the day of seeing him face to face once again will come sooner than I think. Everyday that passes I just think about how I am one day closer to heaven and one day closer to Kirk; that is definitely something I am looking forward to! When I was younger, I never would have imagined that boy down the road from my grandparent’s would one day turn my world completely upside down, but I’m glad he did! What an amazing blessing it has been! So, this is for you Kirk James. I love you to pieces and I’m so glad you were placed in my life!

Six.

More on being obedient: I came across many devotionals that really spoke directly to what I was going through during this trial. One of my favorite ones I came across is written by Joyce Meyer. In this particular one that I read, she talks about being obedient and it directly addressed my doubts in wondering if God had really called me to this. My entry for May 20th gives the details…
 
“Dear Lord…You have really caught my attention today with one of Joyce Meyer’s devotionals that I came across. She said, ‘We can always find reasons not to obey God. In fact sometimes when we say yes to God, the enemy attacks with power to make us change our minds, to arouse doubt and confusion, and to make us wonder, Did God really call me?’ Bingo! Wow Lord, that is the exact question I have thought to myself so many times, especially when things start to get tough. Lord, I realize now that these doubts are most definitely from the enemy. Please help me not to succumb to them any longer. Thank You for placing this before me… One other thing Joyce said in her devotional was ‘When God says‘Now!’ that’s exactly what God means… It’s all in God’s timing. God never says to you or to me, ‘Here’s what I want. Do it when you’re ready.’ Part of listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is hearing the call to act when God wants you to act. The timing is everything, because it’s God’s timing that matters – not yours.’ Father this made me realize that You are asking me to intercede for Kirk now because for reasons I don’t know, this is the best time to do it. Lord, I ask that You would forgive me for the doubts I have [given into making me wonder if You have really called me to this.] The time [to intercede for Kirk] is now Lord and I don’t want to wait till it’s no longer the right time, until it’s too late. I realize Father that You have given me this chance to intercede and I do not want to turn it down. Father, I don’t want to miss Your Will by not saying yes at the right time which You have obviously said is NOW. Lord please show me how to do it correctly. Lead my prayers Lord. Thank You for Your revelation. –Amen.”
 
“1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” 
-Galatians 6 NLT

 
It was neat to see how God used “The Harvest” as a theme throughout this trial:
 
· Galatians 6:9, which talks about a “Harvest of Blessing,” was the initial verse brought to my mind when I first asked for the burden to be removed from me.
 
· The song Some People Change that I heard come on the radio that one day, talks about changes occurring in people “against all odds” and “against the grain
 
· One of my favorite devotionals, which I previously described, that I came across during this time used the picture of “seedtime and harvest.”
 
· Jill informed me about the significance of Pentecost which come to find out is also known as“The Season of Wheat Harvest” 
 
· Kirk invited me to go join them to cut wheat during the weekend of Pentecost, so I got to spend Pentecost weekend “Harvesting”
 
I will never be able to look at wheat harvest the same way again; it will always remind me of Kirk and this amazing experience I was able to go through on behalf of him!
 

 
It was crazy to see how Galatians 6:9 would show up all the time. It would show up in devotionals I would read and it showed up this particular time while I was at Falls Creek. I was a sponsor one week for a church in my hometown and in our cabin we had “mailboxes” where we could write one another encouragement notes. Another one of the sponsors there that week, Suzanne, wrote me this one. Notice how she placed Galatians 6:9 at the bottom! I never once told her anything about my story, out of all verses, she just happened to place Galatians 6:9 down unknowingly! But again, I have no doubt this was not a coincidence, just God at work again!
 
 
A few ways God showed His hand in this situation:
 As for God His way is perfect. -Psalms 18:31
 All God's ways are perfect. His works are perfect and His words are perfect. Can there also be perfection in His use of numbers? The Jews and Jewish Christians of the Old and New Testament thought so. All wrote extensively of God's design and the significance in His plan of salvation in the use of numbers. In sacred Scripture numbers usually have more significance than their quantitative indicators. More often than not even when a number is used to indicate a certain quantity the individual number given may point beyond the numerical value to a symbolic significance. It is interesting to note that, on average, ONE in every FIVE verses in the Bible contains a number. Many of these numbers have significance — revealing the mind of God in the Scriptures and the divine design of His revelation to mankind.
THREE: In sacred Scripture the number 3 represents that which is solid, real, substantial, and something in its completeness. This number usually indicates something of importance or significance in God's plan of salvation by identifying an important event in Salvation History. This number operates as a "sign-post" in Scripture study for the reader to "pay attention" to the significance of the next event. The life of Christ was the perfect example of this very fact:
- Jesus went into hiding up to the age of 30 and then preached the gospel for 3 years
- He was denied 3 times
- Fell 3 times carrying the cross
- Three of them were crucified that day with 3 nails each
- Darkness fell over the earth at noon and lasted for 3 hours, at which Christ died at 3:00
- Three days later he arose and is now part of the blessed 3 part trinity
The number 3 showed up many times during the time Kirk came into my life which I mentioned earlier.
SIXTEEN (The number of days God extended Kirk's earthly life from the point in time where he originally passed away, December 17th, to the day he went home for good, January 2nd.)
The Biblical Meaning of the Number 16:
The number 16 symbolizes love. There are 16 names of God in the Old Testament that signify His steadfast love for the children of Israel.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 the apostle Paul says 16 things about the quality of love:
1. Love suffers long
2. Love is kind
3. Love does not envy
4. Love does not parade itself
5. Love is not puffed up
6. Love does not behave rudely
7. Love does not seek its own
8. Love is not provoked
9. Love thinks no evil
10. Love does not rejoice in iniquity
11. Love rejoices in the truth
12. Love bears all things
13. Love believes all things
14. Love hopes all things
15. Love endures all things
16. Love never fails
Putting these two numbers together, 3 and 16, brings to mind one of the most famous verses of all, John 3:16 where we see the most important and significant event in all of history, and we see the results of God's perfect love for us..........
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”