Author: LoLo Roberts

I don’t have a very good memory. As a matter of fact, many days I don’t remember what I had for breakfast or what I did the day before. I normally attribute this to being super busy and rushing from one meeting to another. But today I am reflecting on a memory that stands out so crisp in my mind. I am sharing that memory with you. A memory that keeps popping up begging to be remembered.

If you follow my blog, you know I wasn’t raised in the church. I had no knowledge really of God, let alone who Jesus was. I wasn’t even baptized until I was 36 years old. That being said, let me share my memory.

I lived in a small town near St. Louis across the Mississippi River, named Granite City. I was five years old at the time and attending Stallings Elementary School. I was in kindergarten and my teacher’s name was Miss Harris. The school is long gone and I searched to find a picture for you but was unsuccessful.

I walked to school every day with my brother and I am unclear as to why this day he wasn’t walking with me. It also seems odd that my parents would have me walk to school by myself since I had to cross a set of railroad tracks and cross a street to get to my school. This day, I walked alone and later than normal. You see, my great-uncle was coming to visit and I wanted to stay home to welcome him when he arrived. My mom said I had to go to school and visit with my uncle when I got home from school. I cried and kicked my feet yet she still said no. She wrote me a note to give to Miss Harris explaining why I was tardy. Out the front door she directed me and watched me as I walked down the street.

I arrived at the corner which was a stoplight and the light was red. I continued to cry and when the light changed to green my eyes were so full of tears I remained standing on the corner. I felt a hand on my right shoulder and heard a man’s voice, “Are you lost?”. I continued to cry. “Do you need help finding your way home?”. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and remember seeing the man’s shoes. They were leather sandals, slightly worn and light brown. I shook my head no. “What do you need? Why are you crying and so sad?”. I lifted my head and the sun was shining down on him from behind. It was hard for me to see his face. I shifted my body to block the brightness of the sun. “I don’t want to go to school”‘ I said to the stranger.

He knelt down to my level and said, “Where do you live? I will walk with you to your home.”. I lifted my little 5 year hand and pointed down the street. The tears were fully out of my eyes now and I could see what the man looked like. He was thin, not too tall, brownish hair just above his shoulders, slightly dark complected, and blue eyes. He was wearing worn jeans, a blue t-shirt, with a suede vest. He reached out his hand and said, “Come on, let’s go home.” His hand was big compared to my tiny hand. My skin was very fair and his was darker than mine. I remember the strength and calming effect I felt as he held my hand on that short walk.

He let go of my hand and said, “Go inside and ask your mother to drive you to school. You will have a good day at school and will be back home soon with your family.”. I did as he said and my mom was quite mad I let a stranger walk me home and everything that could have possibly happened to me. It swirled around my head because I felt safe with this man and he walked me home. He appeared out of nowhere to walk with me. There are two pictures that remind me of this experience every time I see them. One is I AM by Akiane Kamarik on the left and a Pinterest post I pinned on the right.

I have thought about this memory many times over the years. Why did this man stop to help a little crying 5 year old? Why did he take to time to make sure I made it home safely? Why did it feel so good to hold his hand? Why?……..because it was Jesus. Jesus held my hand that day and He still holds my hand today.

I reflect back on His words, “Are you lost?” and “Come on, let’s go home.” Both are now clearly understood in my mind of God’s love for us. We are lost until we know God’s love for us and what Jesus did on the cross. Only through Jesus are we found. Also, Jesus will call us home some day. Our salvation guarantees us a eternal life in God’s home. The Bible confirms this.

John 14:2-3  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

I have such a poor memory and have forgotten many memories yet this one strongly remains. God wants me to know and remember He is always with us and will never leave us scared and alone on a street corner. His hand is always reaching out for us and when we take hold we are comforted. I pray that today if you don’t know the comfort of God’s hand to just reach up and ask Him to take your hand and to walk with you. He will. My gratitude and love for you-LoLo

I am sitting in my office daydreaming and totally not focused because I have a cold. As my mind wanders, I look down and see the shoes I am wearing. They are nothing special, just simple sandals that are easy to slip on and off. I find them to be comfortable so I wear them quite often. Today though, they look different to me with a different meaning.

These shoes I take for granted were bought with money my husband earned (as I make no money in my ministry). Money from his job that his paycheck provides. A paycheck that God provides with His love and mercy. The sandals appear different this morning. I see them as God’s sandals that I walk in.

Today, I realize that these shoes originated from God’s love for me and it is my purpose to do His work in them. Each morning as I wake up, I ask God to bless me with opportunities to serve Him and fulfill His work on this day. I realize this means to be obedient and faithful in my daily walk. My walk in these shoes must represent God’s work.

I am up by 6am every morning and my shoes hit my feet by 7am and are removed many times late at night. I stand in my shoes with our homeless community, sit with elderly folks that their family have forgotten, as well as victims of violent crime. These shoes walk with me everywhere and see each person I see. They hear the stories of God’s people who have lost HOPE. My shoes provide a foundation for God’s work in me.

Again, as I look down at my worn sandals, I think of Him. God reminds me daily that we have free will and we can choose to do good or be self-centered. I have to choose to stand firm on His foundation and when I walk in His shoes, I must represent Him. I have many opportunities in a day to think of myself instead of Our Father. I remind myself to whom these shoes belong, as well as whom I belong to.

I remind others that if we are solidifying a business deal and we see the chance to make extra money because the client won’t question the price, we must remember whose shoes we stand in. We need to turn away from instant gratification and wait for God’s rewards for being as fair and honest. The extra chunk of money seems like a great “bonus” for us but, nothing compares to external life. We well know too, that God is our provider and if we are honest and fair to others, we see tenfold the blessings.

Another example I share is if we choose to gossip in God’s shoes. I know it is our human conditioning to want to gossip, as it makes us feel better about ourselves, it is not from God. It is from Satan and he is never worthy to stand in our shoes that belong to God. We are believers in Christ which gifts us the Holy Spirit, God within us. God within us standing in God’s shoes. Why would we want to remove God’s love from us to benefit from what’s here on this earth?

God designed us to be Christlike in all we do. He blessed us with His love, grace, and mercy. He blessed us with shoes that belong to Him. Use your shoes to remember how mighty and loving God is and that they are your foundation. The foundation that is firm and supports you from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. The foundation filled with the Holy Spirit. As I looked at my shoes, this came to my mind…..

These are God’s shoes which He had made. These are God’s shoes for with His life He paid.

Please look down at your shoes today and think of them in a different way. My love and gratitude for you-LoLo

It has been months since I have blogged, recorded a video for You Tube, or been on Instagram. The purpose? To be closer to God. I have had many trials since Ash Wednesday. Some personal that I won’t talk about right now but several I will.

Let me start with Ash Wednesday. This was a day that God placed a very uncertain obstacle in my path that would require much patience and waiting. I am still waiting for God’s resolution. My health is fine incase you wander down that path. Ash Wednesday was truly different for me this year. I saw people on Facebook giving up a certain liquor they loved while others proclaimed they would be kinder to others. This was their sacrifice during the Lenten season. I am not speaking against their choices, God knew my sacrifice would be different.

God lead me to draw closer to Him and not the things of the world. He led me to post on Facebook, “40 People for 40 Days”. I would begin praying for anyone that asked me to cover them, a family member, a friend, situation, health concern, or absolutely anything that fell into God’s righteousness. Let me tell you what my prayers were everyday.

22 were for health and healing, 2 for sobriety for a family member, 2 were for grief, 4 were for severe anxiety, 7 were unspecified and asked for prayers of covering, 3 were for employment uncertainties, 5 were for financial relief, 8 were for children that had pulled away from God, 1 was for a child struggling with mental unbalance, 6 were complete families and their struggles, 2 were for moms that were not fully participating in their kids lives, 13 were for elderly friends and family members, and several were peppered in daily as I saw need through my own eyes. God took me way past 40.

God opened my eyes during this 40 days in a way He never has before. I prayed daily before going to bed and started at 8:30 pm. I am not going to lie, this was a long process as I prayed individually for these people. I did on 3 occasions ask God to forgive me, but I was weary toward the end and did ask Him to do a complete covering over my whole list as I was unable to pray individually. Nightly, as I prayed, I felt my prayers become more intentional and specific for each person. I felt the Holy Spirit develop the prayers within my heart with an emotion I had never felt before. I felt God pulling me closer to Him each night as I gave my time to Him and not the world. I saw God maturing me spiritually.

God also showed me another important lesson as I prayed for others, and that was to refocus on gratitude. I had taken many of these walks in prayer for myself throughout the years. A walk with family members needing healing, financial issues, personal healing, sobriety for myself, relief from severe anxiety, I had prayed for all of these for myself. God showed me His goodness that currently I wasn’t in a walk with these struggles. He showed me how He had held my hand and healed me. I was reminded to never forget to be grateful when we aren’t in a walk that others are. Oh, I have other struggles but I don’t fear because God is with me and will never leave me.

Below is a picture of the prayer stones I gifted the people that asked me to pray for them. I purposely used an ink that I knew would wear off and shared with them this message. “This small stone has a cross on it. If the cross disappears, look at the stone. Jesus is your rock and foundation, even if feels like He’s not near, be reminded of this message. He is your rock.”

Since Ash Wednesday, I have had many friends diagnosed with new illnesses, cancers, unknown masses in their body, and now mental stress ignited out of the mass shooting in my hometown. I am again in prayer for all of them and it’s a large number.

Recently I participated in an Evening of Empowerment for victims of violent crime. I again set out my prayer request bucket to allow another Holy Spirit driven 40 days of prayers for those in need. This is a picture of that little bucket that quickly filled.

I had hoped to show you some of the handwritten prayer requests but most included the victim’s name and would always respect their privacy. I was able to crop these 2 prayer requests to show you the magnitude of their requests.

A home and forgiveness………the things we take for granted. My heart breaks when I read these two request. I have always had an address and a place to live. This young woman was in her early twenties and has been homeless since she was 18. Every day she is looking for a safe place to be, a place most of us take for granted. The other request is vague and asks for forgiveness. A gift God gives freely and to anyone that asks. Many of us are afraid to ask for God’s forgiveness because we are ashamed or don’t feel worthy. We are worthy and we are loved. These beautiful women from that event that have blessed me to be their prayer warrior will be covered and I will intercede on their behalf.

Ezekiel 22. https://www.gotquestions.org/stand-in-the-gap.html

I am asking you today to build your prayer life for yourself and for others. The power of prayer changes lives and I am a witness to this. I prayed for 40 days starting Ash Wednesday, 23 people told me at different times though out the 40 days to continue my prayers because they saw God moving. That is a huge number for me as most people I pray for don’t recognize God’s blessing but recognize the need to pray. We have to open our eyes to His work that completes the period of praying. My ministry came from the love and messages at Chase Oaks Church in Plano, Texas. It is a come as you are church allowing you to walk into our church without fear with the understanding no one is perfect but God loves you as you are.

https://www.chaseoaks.org/

My love and gratitude for you reading my blog. LoLo