Will Ford

Some call it serendipity, coincidence, cowinkadink, but it's actually the Providence of God, aligning lives, frame-by-frame, some lives even previous to yours, to weave into yours and to connect with you today...this very moment...wherever you are in life. Nothing is coincidental or even accidental. That chance meeting, that conversation with a stranger, that pregnancy, that birth defect, and in the case of the two authors, their family history.

This is not just a "typical" book about prayer revival to bring an end to racism and abortion, although prayer may be the only way to bring about changes in heart.

As described in Revelations 8:3-5, prayer can be collected throughout many generations. They are sent up to Heaven as incense and collected in bowls before God's altar. At the right time, that is only determined by God, He "turns these bowls over and pours out a powerful release in answers to prayers." (p. 103) This can take place even hundreds of years later, although some are fotunate to actually see their prayer come to fruition right before their very eyes in a short amount of time. That would mean the timimg was perfect for God to reveal.

Just like slavery, abortion is now so interwoven into the fabric of America, it would seem like an impossibilty to remove such a "standard" thing today. But, prayers are collecting, and one day, He will throw down to earth those bowls of prayers, and the earth will move!

The authors use genealogy to show God's providence in their lives, which is what finally brought them together, one a slave, the other the slave owner, searching out their past. Will's ancestors used an over-turned iron cooking pot to pray and sing into so Matt's ancestor, the slave master, wouldn't hear them praying for freedom and beat them to death.

God's promises to one generation extends to all generations beyond. It will happen, at the perfect time (in God's time) with the right people, in the right generation. In this case, as a dream given to Martin Luther King, Jr, a descendant family member of previous slaves would sit side by side with a family member who previously owned those slaves. Their story is amazing! There were so many specific coincidentals and dreams provided by God, labeled The Dream King, that occurred on their journey that there is no other way to describe it than the Providence of God.

I now wish I had written down my journey of discovering my family's history. I truly thought it was in the discovering, itself; but, what I should have been paying attention to are all the coincidences I've encountered that were really God's providence, trying to connect me to others...maybe for very specific reasons, which I'm pretty sure I missed....but I'm confident that God will rectify any important situations....when I'm ready.

Most have been forgotten by now, except the latest discovery of a woman named Phebe Hayes. Her ancestors were owned by my 4th great-grandfather, Amand Broussard. I had just recently researched this particular ancestor and found out that his house had been preserved and was showcased at Vermilonville Park in Lafayette, Louisiana. Next, I ran across her family tree and quiry at Ancestry.com looking for any other slaves owned by this Broussard family. I decided to contact her and let her know that I was a direct descendant of this Amand Broussard and currently researching him. We talked on the phone one time, both said we'd like to meet, and then I did my usual...moved on. Now, I wonder if God wants, or wanted, something to come of it? I still think of her from time to time. Maybe I will give her a call...I still have her number.

P. 59: His revelation in finding so much about his ancestors and his genealogy, and the fact that his early ancestors home was still standing, preserved just like my ancestors home, literally brought tears to my eyes. THEN, in an instant I got it. God just revealed to me why genealogy was so important. Yes! It's exciting to research and discover, but God is more interested in connecting people into the tapestry of life. Like the book says earlier, we see the jumbled messy, the splattered knots from the back, if you turn it over to see the right side of the fabric, how beautiful it really is, that's the full vision God sees and is weaving it to completion.

My problem is I never cared to interact with the people I've discovered in my family tree. I research, I discover, I record, I share with them, They don't share with me, so then I banish them out of my life. Or, I simply just don't feel like socializing, but this is not what God intended for me to do...just collecting information. That alone doesn't benefit anyone in the long run, not even me. So, now I have to ask God: So what is it I'm designed to do? Why give me these skills, this drive to do the things I love to do if they go no where in life? Nothing is coincidental. He (God) has woven these desires, these skills, these loves, into my DNA. And if it's true He is working my life frame-by-frame, then for what purpose?… (mais)