God In A Box

There is an experience I have wanted to share that took place on April 5th when married to Patrick. When the experience took place I was on the phone with my parents in a matter of 30 minutes, because it shook my view…my small, small view of spiritual warfare. There are experiences that take place that are explainable but still unexplainable to a degree. I have an experience that grabbed my attention and changed my perspective of the Creator.

Our home was in transition…it was a roller coaster of happy moments and tense moments. This is normal in a blended family situation. I have no doubt given the opportunity Satan will step in and destroy any family. There is no family immune to his attacks. I have walked away realizing how important it is to be ready for spiritual battles.

It was stressful in our home when this experience took place. Brayden and Patrick were battling each other verbally and mentally. Patrick had made a statement out of frustration that it wasn’t worth being married and putting up with Brayden’s behavior (more colorful language was used, but you sense the tension in the home) and this is when I started to pray specific prayers for our family.

I spent many nights in those few months watching Patrick fall asleep. I would touch his chest (heart) and say a prayer for him. He has struggled with so many “things” throughout his life and I started praying for a miracle for him last October. I wanted…want him to experience just a taste of God’s grace and love. I desperately wanted his heart to be softened.

It was a Monday night and we were traveling back to Monahans from Odessa. I fell fast asleep that night…I never woke up, which is odd for me. The next morning while showering, Patrick walked into the bathroom area and said, “did you hear those three knocks on our bedroom door last night?” and I remember cocking my head and thinking “what in the world?” I immediately said, “no.” He repeated what he asked me and told me the knocks were loud and high up on the door. He told me he had said, “come in!” When nothing happened he said he got out of bed, opened the door and looked in on Brayden, but nothing was there and Brayden was asleep. It was the tone in his voice and his eyes that sent the hair on the back of my neck standing straight up.

I called my parents that morning on my way to Kermit and both of them listened and began praying…intercessory praying. I spoke to God aloud in the car while driving to work to please allow me to hear what Patrick heard. I spoke to my friend at work about what Patrick had shared and she began to pray over me in the classroom. That night while Patrick was making light of what took place the night before…”Bob, the ghost,” I began to pray for protection for my family…release peace in Jesus name. I laid there in our bedroom while complete darkness engulfed the room…my Bible rested on my chest and I held Patrick’s hand for awhile while he slept. I then began to talk to God. I rolled over to grab my cell phone and it said 3:31 am. As I was placing the phone back on the nightstand…three loud knocks were at our bedroom door.

I am the BIGGEST chicken around…if I get spooked, forget it…I will be the first one to leave and if you get knocked down in the process, I’m sorry…lol!!

I sat straight up, no fear, got out of bed with Bible in hand and I opened the door. Of course nothing was there. I stood in the kitchen drinking a glass of water, Bible in the other hand and wondered what do I do now. I began to walk our hall while reading scriptures out loud. At one point I thought, “Karri, you have lost your mind…make sense of this…” but I couldn’t! It just seemed natural. The following night, which was the last night, the knocks were at our opened bedroom door.

The moment I started sharing of the experience with my parents and a very, dear co-worker, I started sensing a change would be taking place in my life. This experience reminds me of not putting God in a box. One thing I learned through the Bible study by Priscilla Shirer is “God is predictable in His character, but He is completely unpredictable in His activity.” My life is forever changed by this experience because of God’s unfailing love for me. He will use any means possible to grab my attention…