Discovering the Treasure She Never Knew She Possessed

Amazonian Wednesdays 🌴

This beautiful story is from February 2020:

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“I used to be so cruel to my niece! But now…” Josefina cuddled the child by her side and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. This was Grecia, her brother’s daughter. Josefina’s eyes were soft as she described how God had changed her heart.

Tadeo, her brother, had inflicted painful sorrow on a lot of hearts. Leaving Grecia’s mother and their baby in the dust, he disappeared with another woman. Grecia’s mom couldn’t take the pain. She gave her little one over to Josefina, and left forever. Josefina was struggling with her own poverty. She very reluctantly received the child.

Her conscience would not let her turn this vulnerable niece away. Yet, anger burned against her brother. Every time she looked at little Grecia, she felt it smoldering inside her. Her unresolved resentment came out in her treatment of the girl. A constant flow of biting words overflowed from her outraged soul. Poor Grecia bore the brunt of her father’s sins.

That is… until Josefina came to one of our Women’s Encounters. That weekend, God radically changed her life. She was born again. She came up out of the waters of baptism, a brand-new person with a brand-new heart.

During that retreat, she sat under anointed teachings about forgiveness. The Holy Spirit opened her spiritual eyes to understand His powerful message. She surrendered all her anger and bitterness to Him. He washed it all away. In an instant, she received from Him a new heart and a new spirit.

In that same instant, an unexpectedly tender love was born in her… for Grecia. She repented of her harsh treatment of the child. This new heart God had given her — it brimmed over with His compassion! She embraced the little girl, the love of God now flowing through her soul in abundance.

Josefina has seen a radical transformation in her relationship with Grecia. Now, where callous words and actions previously flowed, gentle ones have taken their place. She eagerly welcomes the provision of life together with this precious gift from God.

Ironically, Josefina has since learned that her womb cannot conceive children. In spite of the pain this causes her, she lifts her eyes to Heaven in thanksgiving. In His amazing goodness, the Father had granted her a daughter of her own… before she even had eyes to see it. Now she offers up exuberant praise to Him for opening her eyes to see what a treasure she had all along.