The doorbell rang at the worst possible time. It was the afternoon of our Graduation Ceremony night and we were all very busy getting things ready.
I remember thinking, "Oh no, Iām too busy for whoever that is!" I opened the door and there was Elena with a small bouquet of flowers. God had not been too busy for Elena. He had been working on Elena’s heart and drawing her to himself. She came in, sat down and spoke the words that I never thought I would hear her say, "I am ready to accept Jesus as my Savior."
It had taken Elena nine months to come to the point where she realized she needed a Savior, and all that time God had never given up on her. I believe Elena’s heart was searching for the truth and even though she had many obstacles in her path, God drew her to the classes and to Himself.
Elena is a Paraguayan woman in her mid-forties with a quiet, unassuming nature. She has a busy life with her five children ranging in ages from 5 to 22. She helps her husband in his auto mechanic shop and is also a part-time reflexologist. I met her when a friend invited her to one of my Bible studies.
Elena is a very appreciative and giving person. Almost every time she came to class she would bring a little something to show her appreciation. First it was some passion fruit from her trees. Another time it was some mango relish she had made herself. Once she even picked some wildflowers, on her way to class, and presented them to me.
Because of her busy schedule, Elena was not able to make all the classes needed to complete the 12-week course. She didn’t let that discourage her from coming to the graduation ceremony, even if she wasn’t going to receive her certificate.
I thought I had lost my chance with Elena when she didn’t show up for the start of the next 12-week class. But, midway through the course, on about week 6, she arrived with one of her gifts. Each time she was in class she seemed genuinely interested, but her attendance was still sporadic. When it came time to graduate another group of ladies, Elena once again lacked too many classes to finish the course. I was concerned that her understanding of the Gospel would be hindered by her hit and miss attendance.
I offered to meet with her whenever she had time and go over the classes she had missed. She eagerly accepted. In doing this, we had many opportunities to talk about the Lord and the salvation He brings. At the end on one of our visits, she told me that she wanted to get saved, but needed to get some things in order first. I tried to explain that nothing needed to be in order and that all she needed was to accept the free gift of salvation. I told her that we all have to come to God as sinners and undone before him, but that he accepts us the way we are. She apparently lacked the faith to trust Jesus that day. She left saying that one day she would come back to talk to me more about it.
Elena received her certificate after finally completing the course, but still not having made a decision for Christ. I didn’t think I would see her again. I added her name to the list of those who were still lost and we began to pray, as a family, for her salvation.
Since all the other ladies in my group were now saved I designed the next set of lessons to begin discipling them. To my surprise, Elena was at the first class. I made it clear that the things I was teaching only applied to those who were saved. Each lesson that Elena attended I made sure to include the plan of salvation. Elena knew she was without Christ, but continued to come to class. Once again, her studies were so incomplete that she was not able to graduate with the others. Again, I felt I would not see Elena once the course ended.
But on the day of our Graduation Ceremony, she showed up at our door. As Elena prepared to leave after accepting Christ that afternoon, I told her I was sorry that she would not be receiving a certificate of completion at that night’s ceremony. Elena reached her arms out, took me by the shoulders and smiling said, "A piece of paper doesn’t mean anything.ā
We talked about how she had just received something even better ā salvation. And there is no certificate for that. Our reward is coming in the form of an eternity with our Lord!
Sherri Pryor
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