As The Doors Open

The original writing of this piece came fresh off of the exciting opportunity I had to have an interview with Sheree Paolello featured on WLWT News 5, Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate! It was truly an honor to meet Sheree and her cameraman, Sean! They are some of the kindest people you will ever meet! They were refreshingly excited to be there to hear and share my story! I am extremely grateful for their help in beginning to broaden the reach of my life and message of hope through faith in Jesus Christ! That was a lot of exclamation points. But they definitely belong there!.. !!!

As wonderful as the WLWT team was in presenting a bit of my personal platform, it was most certainly the Lord who put everything together. That’s how it always is, and that’s how it ought to be viewed. I know that God has prepared me for such a time as this, with these circumstances, and this skill set to leave a legacy for Him! He has chosen me, as He desires for us all, to be a vessel for His service. And He has honored my willingness to be used. My God’s good like that! All glory goes to Him because all glory is due Him! Please don’t get tired of me saying that, ‘cause I promise I won’t stop saying it.

The Lord used another willing vessel of His and a good friend of the family, Mia Supe, to facilitate the connection necessary to bring the whole thing about. She has been friends with Sheree for years and reached out to her about my story. Miss Mia is an awesome lady, who seeks to serve Jesus with her entirety! I can remember several times where her faith made a direct impact on mine. Moments that I am thankful to have seen! Mia is one of the many amazing people that have covered my life in prayer for years that God would use my situation in mighty ways. Those prayers of these many blessed friends are being answered anew every day! He’s proving, as if He needed to prove it any more, His faithfulness to us all!

A prayer that I have personally prayed, and am sure others have prayed on my behalf comes from an obscure Old Testament man named Jabez. There are literally only two verses written about him. In one of those verses we find him praying this: “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.” – 1 Chronicles‬ ‭4:10‬. The previous verse describes him as an honorable man. Meaning he was righteous and God-fearing. This speaks to his motive behind the prayer, that in seeking these things he intended to use them in a way that honored the Lord. So God rewarded that.

I have desired and inquired after the very same things. That the Lord would bless me in great ways so I could be a blessing to others. That He would expand my vision and reach, so my feeble attempts at leading people to Jesus would bear fruit simply out of how much seed he enables me to scatter. And may I add, He has no need for me to do this, His fame is already world renowned and unmatchable! He can handle it Himself, but, as a loving Father, He includes me. Like Jabez, I have further asked that God be with me and protect me from all unnecessary pain. Keyword unnecessary because sometimes pain is required for growth. That He keep me from any evil motives and resulting causes of harm to others. I want His blessings so I can use them in a way that gives right back to Him! And I also want His restraint so I can live my life aware of my accountability for my actions!

I never doubted that God would answer these requests with a yes, and look where we are now! And as the doors continue to open, it’s only the beginning! Praise the Lord! Those who have prayed alongside never doubted either. Any child of God that asks the same can be assured He will honor it! And that includes when we pray it for other followers of Christ! If you don’t think Jesus is active in the connective network of fellow believers, you are sorely mistaken. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always joining us together by causing our paths to cross in the most perfect of ways! Would you join me in praying such things for the whole Body of Christ?

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” – Ephesians‬ ‭4:1

“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:11-12‬