That video resulted in Heaven being bombarded with prayers for my son. If Jesus ever wanted to look down and say "Ok Ok, enough already" this was the time. It all came to a screeching halt on June 24th when Levi went into treatment. He successfully completed an intensive 30 day program and then entered sober living.

 

In the short time since, he has made great progress. He is working, has valuable new friendships, accepts accountability, and most significantly his faith in Jesus has been resurrected. He even began "church shopping" with a friend

On Sunday, July 27th, I was at camp. Levi was planning on surprising me and coming out for the day but at the last minute there was a problem with his motorcycle. Since he needed that for work the next day, he had to stay home and fix it. Earlier in the week, I received a message from Jamey Codding who would be preaching that Sunday at Freshwater Community Church, where I attend reguarly.  He mentioned a conversation we had months earlier about Levi. His message read;

"Hi Lou, hope you’re enjoying your time at your cottage (assuming you’re still there).I wanted to let you know that I’m going to reference the conversation you and I had at the office a few months back when I preach tomorrow. It will all be anonymous — just “a friend who has been in a very difficult trial who told me they are fighting for an eternal perspective.” It really stuck with me when you said that and it fits so beautifully with James 5:7-11, but I wanted to give you a heads up."

Of course I agreed and looked forward to catching the sermon online since I would not be there in person.
 

I found out later that Levi had attended Freshwater that morning and heard that message. In a follow up conversation I told him that he and I had been the sermon illustration. His reply was "I knew it! I so knew it"

 

In preparation for Sunday, August 10th, I  got a message from Jake Poole who would be preaching that week at Freshwater. He mentioned a card I had written to him in 2022 about praying for Levi. His message read:
"Hey Lou, I am in the process of preparing a message on James 5:16-18 on the power of prayer. As I’ve been prepping, the Lord brought to mind a card that you wrote me three years ago about Levi. In it, you mentioned, praying that his hard heart would be turned to soft goo in God’s grace. Here’s the ask: Would you be willing to allow me to read that card during the end of the message on Sunday? I would obviously redact names and make it anonymous, but I think it would be a very powerful example of persistent prayer—that you have lived out so vividly. This is completely your call; so let me know your heart on the matter. I’m completely open-handed on it. Praying for you! Always in your corner."

Again, of course I agreed. This time I would be present.
 

Sunday came and Jake preached an amazing message on persistent prayer. At the end, he read parts of the card I had written to him in 2022. The card read:
"On 1/23 (2022) while leading worship, you prayed that the "foundation of our hard hearts would soften". Thank you for those words. I pray Ezekiel 36:26, the heart of stone being changed to a heart of flesh, for my son Levi. I've been praying it for years. When you said those words, the Holy Spirit breathed new vision into my prayer. I stood there thinking what is in the foundation of my son's hard heart. I know for sure there is a ton of scripture and God stories & even godly commitments that he is trying to ignore. I pictured that stuff becoming soft and gooey and oozing upward through layers of brokenness and garbage and I got really excited. I think of all that soft, God filled goo taking over until he can no longer resist. I know the day will come. Thank you for giving me words to pray while I wait."

Jake has been praying for Levi ever since I wrote that card. And on this day, while he preached this message, the object of his prayer and his sermon illustration was sitting in the second row, sober and attentive. Again, Levi was present for the message, this time joined by friends and my daughter Molly. They told me later that when Jake read the card, they knew it was from me.

I have stood many times with by Bible open to Ezekiel 36 begging God for the restoration that is described in that chapter. Verse 35 says that the people looking on will ask how such wasteland now looks like the Garden of Eden. God replies that He alone has done it and gets the credit. This Sunday I held my Bible open again to those familiar pages but this time knowing that my son's stony heart was finally soft and God's redemption was underway. How many times I have asked God to get my son's attention. I'm guessing that being the sermon illustration two Sundays in one month is a good start. That's just funny.

This new chapter in our family is just beginning, and this is just a small part of the story. The road ahead will not be without complications and hard days. But I have a feeling God has just begun to show off. I believe the enemy's wild attempts at destruction will look like child's play compared to the life that God has prepared. Ephesians 3:20 says that what He has planned for us is beyond anything I can think or imagine. Yes Please! I will take some of that.

Join me praising God for answering that tired old worn out prayer for my son and truly giving him new life - physically and spiritually. I can never thank you enough for your prayers so I ask God to bless you and yours.