SS 11 “Friend’s Love Contagious”

This week’s Salvation Story is about Laurel's sister, London. What is so near and dear to my heart with this story is how God saw fit to use one of my dearest and sweetest friends, Dawn. We met when I spoke at a women's conference in Fresno, California. While I was speaking, I noticed Dawn's sweet, smiling face that was radiant. If you go to the RMIOU.com campus, there's a picture of the ladies who attended, and you can see Dawn wearing a blue sweater (near the back left). 

After the meeting, I met Dawn, who had offered to drive me to her home in San Jose, let me stay the night, and then take me to the airport early the next morning. In that very short time together, we became the closest and dearest of friends (to this day), and it was Dawn who God used to introduce Laurel’s sister, London, to the Lord.

From the moment Laurel and London were born, they had one of the worst cases of sibling rivalry I’d ever seen. To prove my point, London was all set to come to live with us in Missouri and go to the university, but because Laurel came to live with us, London chose another state for only that reason! Thankfully, God uses everything for good.

When my brother searched the United States for her major, Linguistics, it showed that San Jose State University was said to be one of the best. So my brother, Tom, called me from Japan, saying he knew I had “friends” all over the world (only God could manage that, and also that my brother would admit this, being a typical older brother 😉 and asked if I knew anyone in the area. Immediately, I envisioned the warm, cozy twin bed I’d slept in and the warmth of Dawn's home, so I said Yes, but I knew this would be a lot to ask.

Looking back, I believe I didn’t email but chose to call Dawn, but one part I do remember, I warned Dawn to make absolutely sure it was the Lord who wanted her to do this! It was vitally important that Dawn just do this for me or base it on our friendship. I also made sure Dawn knew about my demanding and in-your-face brother—before I would allow her to accept. A few days later, Dawn assured me she did sense it was Him, and to confirm this, before my niece London came to live with her, she had already taken in another foreign university student from China!

When the year had almost ended, while London was preparing to leave to return home to Japan, Dawn told me how she felt she had let me down. I was shocked and told her she didn’t let me down. I asked if she thought I had expected her to "lead" my niece to the Lord. She said, “Yes, of course.” That's when I was able to explain that all I had hoped she would do was to LOVE my niece with the same love she’d always given to me, His love. And that London’s salvation was not her job or responsibility—salvation is the Lord's job, not hers, not mine. Hearing her sigh, she responded by saying how relieved she was.

It wasn’t long after, maybe a week or two when I heard what had happened. One evening, London had come home from a youth group meeting dancing and jumping excitedly around the living room, saying, almost singing, that she’d accepted the Lord into her heart and how happy she was!

This proves that when we let go and let God do what He alone can do—whether that is saving a soul, healing a heart, or restoring a relationship—we can simply trust the Lord. He finally has the room needed to fulfill His plan and promise for our family or friends.

The biggest shock came when London’s parents saw the change in both their daughters. When she got home, she embraced her sister, Laurel, told her how happy she was, and then pulled her into her room to tell her what had happened!

Way, way back when the Lord told me how He would come into this family, through the girls, I heard myself say that when it happened (notice I never said “if”?), the change in their daughters would be what would get my brother and sister-in-law's attention. Though I’d heard about this fantastic change, it wasn’t until my daughter, Tara, lived with their family in Japan. Tara returned home to say she was constantly in awe of how close these sisters were. It’s not just that they stopped fighting and bickering, but that they could be seen hugging each other all the time, with arms always wrapped around the other or walking holding hands (customary for close friends in Japan).

For me, the most significant proof was how gorgeous London became. To me, she always looked a bit too much like my brother. *giggle. But once London met the Lord face-to-face, she was glowing and is now simply gorgeous!

“They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed.” "When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him; I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded. He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid. Look to Him and shine, so shame will never contort your faces” (Psalm 34:4-5).

NOTE: Before my brother and his wife ever entrusted me with his two daughters or would entrust one of my friends, he made it clear that he knew I wasn’t like the other in-your-face bible-thumping people he hated and trusted my friends were the same. Instead of ever trying to share the Lord with my brother, I lived His love. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own [I'll get her saved], is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things [not "if" but when], hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails . . .” (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Over all these years, the Lord has given me many opportunities to water the seed sown by simply being myself—simply loving others the way He has loved me for so many wonderful years.

UPDATE: London, once unmarried, while working as a university professor with her dad (my brother Tom, who I believe will be the next to surrender his life to the Lord unless my sister-in-law, Keiko, beats her husband to it. 🙂 is now married with an adorable boy and trying for a second baby!

RESTORED: In case you want to know more about Dawn, she was blessed with a RESTORED marriage! Be sure to read My Dearest Friend RESTORED!