Hadley Baker
Do you remember the first day of middle school? I sure as heck do. Stepping off the bus in front of Zundelowitz
Junior High, I was terrified. I had
heard all these rumors that the 8th graders routinely beat up the younger
students just for fun. They called it
“initiation.” I had especially been
warned not to go into the bathroom.
Apparently, that’s where all the “beat downs” took place. Although I had never tried, I was pretty sure
I couldn’t go an entire school day without peeing. So holding my bladder all day or being ready
to fight seemed to be my only two options.
How lovely.
I got my schedule and saw that my first period class was
Pre-Algebra. No bueno. I never liked math in the first place, but
especially not early in the morning. On
top of the poor subject matter, my teacher’s name was Mrs. Marusczak. That named scared me a little. Even though I had never met this lady, she
sounded mean. My suspicions were
instantly confirmed—this lady did NOT play!
On top of being a “no nonsense” teacher, she had one nostril that was
WAY bigger than the other. I was
mortified!
Just when I thought middle school couldn’t get any worse, I
met Jerimiah Ramos. When he walked into
the classroom everyone noticed him. I
mean he was hard to miss. The dude was
wearing a white turtle-neck with some black MC Hammer pants (google them) and
black patent leather shoes (google those as well). On top of that, he had the tallest hair I had
ever seen. Imagine Bruno Mars’ hair on
steroids. I remember thinking he looked
ridiculous. Little did I know I had just
met the guy who would become one of my best friends for life.
This story is a long one—let me shorten it big time. Jerimiah and I became really close in middle
school. But he was not a good influence
on me at all (and vice versa). We were
constantly getting each other into trouble.
Although I had grown up in church (my mom drug me there three times a
week) I had not yet surrendered my life to Christ. I was having too much “fun” to be worried
about that “church stuff” my mom was pushing.
Jerimiah and I were partners in crime.
We were good at being bad.
The summer before 9th grade I had a radical conversion
experience. Jesus saved me—I was a
Christian! I was changed in an
instant! I couldn’t wait to tell
Jerimiah what had happened. I wanted him
to know Jesus like I did. When I finally
got a hold of him (this was before everyone and their dog had a cellphone) I
told him I had some big news. But then I
found out he had some news of his own—he was moving to Fort Worth. The timing seemed so bizarre to me. I wanted so badly to influence my friend for
good and help him become a Christian, but I would not have the chance. He was gonna be 150 miles away! But I was determined. I decided I would just mail him letters (this
was before everyone and their goat had email).
It was probably my 3rd or 4th letter to him when I just got really bold
with him. I basically told him that he
needed to surrender his life to Christ and get right with God. Although I had said the right thing, Jerimiah
did not wanna hear it. After that letter
he quit replying back to me. I had lost
my best friend.
So even though I couldn’t see him at school and he wasn’t
responding to my letters, there was still one thing I could do—PRAY. I began to pray for Jerimiah constantly. I asked the Lord to save him, to change his
heart. I remember kneeling beside my bed
at night calling out to God, “God, please help Jerimiah to surrender to
you. Open his eyes to see that he needs
you, Lord.” Years and years went
by. Nothing. I never heard back from Jerimiah. To be honest, I felt like my prayers had been
a waste of time. Had God even heard
me? I felt so incredibly discouraged.
We gotta fast forward.
Almost 12 years after Jerimiah and I had last spoken, I get a phone call
from a number I did not recognize. It
had a weird area code and everything. I
answered, “Hello?” A familiar voice
inquired, “Is this Hadley Baker?” I
said, “Yes it is, who is this?” To my
complete shock and amazement I heard the words “This is Jerimiah Ramos!” I could not believe it. Out of nowhere my old friend had called
me. It was so incredible to hear his
voice after all those years. But even
more incredible was this—Jerimiah was now a CHRISTIAN! I was blown away! He shared his story with me of how he had
made his life a mess, hit rock bottom, and cried out to God. You could hear it in his voice, Jesus had
changed him! In that moment I realized that all my prayers had not been
wasted--God had heard me after all.
Do you have friends or family members that you are praying
for? Do you ever feel discouraged, like
maybe God isn’t listening? I want to
encourage you today—HE HEARS YOU! Keep
praying—don’t let up and don’t give up.
Do you ever look at how “lost” those friends or family members are and
think to yourself, “They will never change.” Keep praying—don’t let up and
don’t give up. Jerimiah Ramos, the
womanizing party-animal I grew up with is now not only a Christian, but is also
heavily involved in ministry. He and his
wife serve at a church in the Denver area.
Jerimiah even preaches on Sundays about once a month! Listen to this sermon he preached a few months ago: http://mosaicdenver.org/sermons/33794/ Some of you feel discouraged. Hang in there. Keep praying.
You may not see results immediately, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t
listening. He is working behind the scenes right now! You never know what your prayers will
accomplish.
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the
right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians
6:9
Remember God views time differently than we do. It may seem like God is not listening
(especially if it’s been years without an answer). He hears you.
And he is not slow.
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day
is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” 2
Peter 3:8
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