Snake Oil

So yeah, I had a bad day yesterday. It didn’t start out that way.

First thing in the morning, my aunt found out that she got the financing for the beautiful mobile home that we had looked at. We went over to talk to the mobile home park manager. To me, there seemed like a lot of rules and regulations. It was a senior park so no babysitting the grandkids of course, but there were a lot of other rules that I thought were nonsense. I thought, why leave one nazi regime (apartment living) just to join up with another nazi regime (this place). But that is just me.

So my aunt was telling the lady how I had moved out from Oregon to help her move and that I am going to be staying with her while I looked for a job and an apartment. “Oh no!” the lady said, “she cannot stay with you, she is not a senior.” The woman went on to say that they had strict rules against that because some seniors wanted their grandchildren to stay with them while they went to college etc, and they just don’t allow it. My aunt didn’t like that, but she didn’t say anything more to the lady about it.

We did not get a chance to talk about it more until later that night. In the meantime she gave her 30 day notice at her apartment. So now I understood that I had only 30 days before I would need a different living situation, and not at least a couple months like I originally thought to look for a job and a housing situation. Now I know that the Lord is in control so please bear with my humanity for just a moment. So now with this idea that I couldn’t stay with my aunt like I originally thought, I was really looking forward to this prayer meeting we were going to. I thought maybe someone there would lay hands on me and prophecy over me with specific answers to my questions or at least some comfort and edification. I got answers all right, just not the kind I was expecting.

We got to the prayer meeting and things started out great. The prayer leader guy was reading the passages in Corinthians where it says that we are not to speak in tongues in the church without interpretation. I said Amen! But when he started the praying – what did he do but start speaking in tongues without interpreting. But it is actually much worse. Here is a sample of what he was praying, “(speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues) businesses! Businesses, businesses, businesses! (speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues) businesses~! Business men, businesses!”

I sat in my chair with my hands folded in my lap and my head bowed. I prayed. “O. My. God. Really Lord? Businesses?” Then the man went on in his prayer, “(speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues) Prisons! Prisons and Nursing Homes!”

(my friends I wish to insert here that – I wish that I was making this all up for your reading pleasure and entertainment – but this is the actual witness of events that I saw with my own eyes. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad, pathetic and scary)

I continued praying, “Really Lord? Prisons and Nursing Homes? What about prisons and nursing homes? This cannot be of you Lord.” At that point, all I wanted to do was get out of there. I prayed that they would not try to do any imparting or laying on of hands to me because it was all deception and not of the Holy Spirit. The guy called everyone down to the front for a big group hug, but I felt strongly that I didn’t want anyone touching me so I just said, “No thanks.” I know it probably sounds like I bring this stuff on myself, but here I was sitting out in the audience alone, saying, “Lord, is it just me? Why is everything so screwed up?”

Finally it was over and we could leave, but I had already established myself as the leper of the group. My aunt said to me, “It was the anointing! Did you feel it?” I couldn’t tell her that the only thing I felt was uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable.

Later in the car on the way home my aunt said, “For you we need to concentrate on the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the manifestation of speaking in tongues. “ I said, “I do speak in tongues. That guy read that verse about not speaking in tongues unless there is an interpreter and then he spoke in tongues without interpreting!” She said, “Oh no, one is the gift of tongues, the other is a personal prayer language – they are two different things.” I knew there was no arguing that twisting of scripture. That tradition nullifies the clear instruction of the scripture. I also knew then that I was totally screwed.

Now I do not blame my aunt. She just doesn’t see what is really going on. She truly does love the Lord and loves to pray. It is not her fault that she is deceived. Now I know the Lord is sovereign and I have been walking out in faith for the last several years and the Lord has ALWAYS gotten me out of whatever situation I was in. The Lord knows I am tied up on the railroad tracks and the train is coming. I know that supernaturally He will swoop in at the last minute and rescue me – but for the moment all I see is the train barreling down the track and hearing the train whistle blowing. All I want to do is scream. And scream and scream.

I know that someday I will look back on this time of my life and laugh.

Hopefully.

So, just taking things one day at a time. The Lord knows the plans He has for me. Plans for Good and NOT Evil! I’ll let you know how that is going.

Blessings in Christ
Linda