Not even a year after we started attending these Jewish roots classes Tom had a powerful encounter with the LORD in the Heavenly realm. He was taken up and experienced a classroom setting in Heaven and saw himself teaching in a classroom on the earth. Toward the end of the experience, the "people" in the Heavenly classroom began singing/imparting "The spirit of the sovereign L-rd is upon you for He has anointed you to preach good news..." This old song Tom grew up singing comes from Isaiah 61:1-3,
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
It was becoming very clear that Tom was called to be a Bible teacher. He formally continued his studies and eventually completed 25 classes at the American Institute for Advanced Biblical studies and recieved a Master's degree in Religious Education in Middle Eastern History. Additionally, he had previously earned an undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Kansas and another Master's degree in Education from Rockhust University. And it now seemed obvious that G-d had his hand in Tom's life preparing him to teach.
However, we did not realize the other revelation from this Heavenly encounter. As the Isaiah 61 passage continues it says "He will comfort all who mourn, He will provide for those who grieve, He will pour out the oil of gladness, Instead of mourning you will praise."
In the midst of all of our learning and growing our family grew as well. Our son Wyatt William was not quite one year old when we began our adventure in the Messianic Movement and in February of 2007 his sister Cassidy Faith was born. Barely 18 months apart they enjoyed life together and were best buddies. In the winter of 2008, we found out we were having another child and we moved Wyatt and Cassie into the same room. The time they spent together before their little brother arrived, staying up in the dark, sharing the same toys, waking up early together, was priceless and wonderful.
On August 14th, 2009, Ezekiel John was born. He was a large baby and we rejoiced at his birth being on Sabbath and his Aunt Lauren's birthday. Our joy was short-lived as 9 days later Zeke became very sick. When we took him to the hospital they informed us he was more than just sick and his chances of surviving were 50/50. We contacted everyone and the prayer and warfare that happened on Zeke's behalf was powerful. We felt confident that the L-rd would move in a miraculous way and heal our beautiful son. As we battled through the night we could sense the presence of G-d, and knew the doctors and nurses were doing everything they could to help our child. As little as Zeke was his body could not handle the sickness inside and it became evident he was not going to recover. As our family gathered around us in the hospital we grieved to a depth we had never experienced before. The only consolation was the knowledge that our son was now with the Creator of the universe.The next nine months were filled with sadness and longing. The L-rd continued to move in our lives, wrapping His arms around us through our family and friends. The loving arms of Kingdom Living were felt in so many physical and spiritual ways. Tom met the L-rd through intimate times of study and felt his hope renewed every time G-d showed him something new in the Word. I felt the L-rd deliver me from a fierce anger that I struggled with for several months, which was so intense it affected my physical body. No doctor could touch my heart the way the Healer of mankind could. I realized that trusting the L-rd with my heart didn't mean everything would go smoothly, or how I wanted. I continually had to surrender my heart and my plans to the L-rd.
Then in May of 2010 our lives shook again, this time with our 4 1/2 year old, first born son Wyatt going to be with the L-rd. We awoke one Friday morning to the reality that our oldest had died, suddenly and without any warning. We had a friend who is a nurse staying with us and she tried desperately to revive him, but when the paramedics came there was nothing to do. We called his spirit back to us, to come forth like Lazarus, and we believed throughout that weekend before his burial that his resurrection would be our bold testimony. To our deep sadness, Wyatt stayed with his King and his little brother.
Our lives seemed unbelievable at this point. Just when we were settling into the mysterious and unpredictable ways of the L-rd we were thrown back into a world of sadness and questioning. The L-rd was faithful, even in this time, to speak to us through other people. A handful of people, unknowing each other's accounts, said they had dreams and visions about the L-rd coming to Wyatt like a lion and asking him to "come take a ride". They all emphasized that they believed Wyatt knew he would not be returning to life on earth. It was a hard idea for me to accept, that He would ask my son to come with Him. Knowing Wyatt, and his joy in the L-rd, it made perfect sense that he would say yes. Wyatt pretended his little action guys were the 12 disciples and that they were witnessing to Romans who would begin to follow Jesus. He very often carried around a shield with a lion drawn on it and acted like Judah the Maccabee, defending Jerusalem. He pretended to be David and used his wooden sword to cut off Goliath's head saying that he did not have to fear because G-d was on his side. Everything within Wyatt reflected the power and love of the L-rd and that of a "little warrior". It makes sense he would want to go be with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. But his absence, on top Ezekiel's, was almost unbearable.
One of our greatest consolations has been Cassidy Faith. When I am sad she tells me, It's ok to cry, Mama. She cuddles me and asks me what she can do to make me feel better. She tells Tom at least 5 times a day that she loves him. Her spirit and body are moved by music and one of the first songs she learned was a Jaye Thomas song, with lyrics that say, "There is only One found worthy, Jesus...L-rd of all, Spirit of truth, everything we need is found in You." She dances around the room, moving her arms and spinning just like King David danced with all his might as they brought in the Ark of the Covenant. And just like her big brother, she brings out her little Bible whenever we do Torah study with our friends. Her love for us and all around her is beyond anything we can comprehend and we rejoice that the L-rd has cared for her during such a hard time. Her middle name, Faith, in Hebrew is emunah and means trusting faithfulness. We continue to pray that she will trust G-d in a life-changing way, one that anchors her deep in the ways of the L-rd.
So here we are, a little over a year later, learning that there's so much more to learn, but beginning to see how the L-rd is unfolding our lives for His glory. In trusting the L-rd we've spent much time asking Him to lead us and take us on the adventure He wants for us. With all we've learned, in our heads and in our hearts, we see Him weaving together a message of hope and redemption in the grace of G-d and the mercy of Jesus. Our suffering has brought us a glimpse of what is written in Isaiah 53; both the suffering of the Jews and the agony of Jesus. We want to take the message of Jesus, and who He really is as the Jewish Messiah, to Israel and the nations. Our world needs a powerful dose of hope and Jesus is that hope, just like 1 Thessalonians 3:13-14 says, Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way G-d, through Yeshua, will take with Him those who have died. The L-rd has called us to the land that Jesus walked, spending time with Jews who know their Messiah is returning and sharing the message of His hope with those who don't see Him yet. We know that we have been marked by the L-rd and we have the wounds to show it. However, we also have the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy according to Revelation 19:10. What is the spirit prophecy? It is the blessed hope of knowing that King Jesus will return and bring justice to the earth and rule and reign in Jerusalem!.
