By Victoria Ostrosky
Hagar was in trouble. Twice. The Bible says the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, weeping. Her mistress, Sarai, had mistreated her, so she ran. She was all alone, pregnant, and without resources. The LORD spoke kindly to her, instructing her to go back to her mistress. The second time, she was forcefully expelled, along with her young son, where she wandered in the wilderness, again. And again, God saw her and rescued her. “The God who sees me,” she called Him.
Naomi’s husband died, then her two sons died. She was left alone with two daughters-in-law. Between the three of them, they had nothing. She journeyed back from Moab to Judea, her home, and Ruth came with her where Ruth gleaned in the fields, picking up the left-over grain so they could have something to eat. Do you know who King David’s great-great grandmother was? Naomi.
Lori Smith was like most of us. Working hard every day, doing the best to take care of her family. Then divorce happened and her mom died. “When you go through things like that you have an array of emotions. It becomes a hopeless situation, at least it feels like that.” Life grabs you by the throat sometimes and shakes you. Three years of slogging through a divorce and the word ‘failure’ comes to mind. You feel very alone, and things are often out of your control.
Lori remembers that through the whole ordeal, losing everything materially, moving to a new location and starting over, she knew God was there watching over her. “The feelings are real, the hopelessness you feel is real and the suffering and heartaches are real, but just like the fear, God is there. You have to know on the inside that He is there for you. Call to Him and He will answer.”
For Lori, spending time in God’s Word, praying, and finding characters in the Bible who also went through tough times, brought her comfort. Joel 2:25 is one of her favorite verses: “I will restore to you the years the locust has eaten.” Lori knows the “the latter is greater than the former. Though it’s a process, God gives you little nuggets to let you know He’s there.”
Lori understands what shaky ground feels like, but she also understands that “you don’t have the spirit of fear but are an overcomer. Allow Him to take you and cover you. He is all you have, and He can lift you up. Those wounds will be healed even though it takes years.”
During that devastating time in her life, Lori sought God’s will. She wanted to know what direction He desired her to go. She considered going into ministry. “I was so afraid I didn’t know my calling. It took many years, and God said – you are a marketplace minister.”
Being the publisher and executive editor of Life Media Group, a multi-media company, Lori finally realized just where God wanted her to be. “Being in PR and marketing, I get to go and see clients and pray with them.” God uses her career to open up doors of opportunity to individually care for others.
Each follower of Jesus is called to ministry. Each believer has been given a specific spiritual gift that we are called to use to its fullest. If you aren’t sure what yours is, ask Him. His plan is for you to have a life full of service to others, pointing them to Jesus.
You can listen to Lori Smith’s entire interview and many other incredible stories on the weekly Road to Redemption radio show and podcast at www.rtrdestiny.com.
