When God Uses Our Stories To Reach Others

Lis is a passionate Brazilian, visual artist, and mother. After losing her own mother, we spoke to her about the importance of empathy and how God can bring good things out of tragic circumstances...

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“I lost my Mum to cancer"

Not long after that I found myself in a conversation with a woman who also had cancer. I was still grieving the death of my Mum, but I didn't want to let that pain get in the way of the Holy Spirit's prompt to pray for her. I also didn't want that woman to miss out on everything that God could do in her life.

The dilemma in that moment was how to be empathetic to what she was going through and not be insensitive just because I wanted to talk about Jesus. So I asked an open-ended question to gauge her response: ‘Do you believe in God?’ This was a great question because it gave her the power to direct the conversation and gave me the opportunity to listen and hear things from her perspective.

The question opened up a great conversation. I was able to share about the tangible hope that Jesus had given to my Mum and family towards the end of her life, and in the end, I was able to pray for her!

In Romans 8:28 it says,

‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’

This experience reminded me how important it is to reflect on your past experiences, bad and good, because God can and does use both.

When you remember what God has done, you will be prepared to share when the opportunity comes.