Visions Life Coaching

12/25/2023

04/17/2023

Every Spring, especially the week after Easter, I am reminded of my new birth. I was born physically on December 21, 1957, but in 1979, at age 21, I was born Spiritually and my life has never been the same since. Here is my story...

It was 44 years ago this week when I surrendered my life to a LIVING God, and His name is Jesus Christ. I was at a very low point in my life, feeling hopeless. My (then) husband was having the first affair (of many more to come). He was also atrociously addicted to po*******hy (another story for another time.)

My parents were serving as missionaries in Haiti, where communicating with my mom about my pain was impossible (no phones in the jungle.) I had always gone to my mother when I had problems and she would pray for me. I never prayed for myself nor for anyone else for that matter. I also had, and still have, a BFF (Joyce) who was the ONLY person I could talk to, but she could not mend my broken heart. My only child, a son, Scott, was 4 years old at the time.

Being raised in a preacher's home, I knew what the Bible said about bringing all my burdens to Christ, but I just didn't know how. One night, in April 1979, I ended up on the floor of my spare bedroom, wailing from the pit of my soul, and for the first time ever I cried out to God. Side note: I was in the spare bedroom because during my husband's affair, he had put me out of our bedroom and all my belonging were moved into the spare bedroom. I was not allowed into our bedroom, although the affair was happening outside our home.

I HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS THAT NIGHT AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER!!!!!!

God heard my wailing and felt my pain and my sorrow. I confessed to Him that night my rebellion towards Him and I apologized to Him for not following Him all the years when I did feel His tug on my heart many times but refused to respond. I apologized to Him for being so self-absorbed and so absorbed into the world. That night I put my faith and trust in Jesus, surrendering my heart to Him. I made a covenant with Jesus and vowed to leave the life I had been living behind and turn to Him, which is what is called "repentance." A covenant is an agreement or a contract. So what I said to Jesus was serious and I meant it for a lifetime.

At that moment, I felt as if warm oil was flowing all over my body as an unexplainable peace rushed in. The pain and heartache left, the crying stopped, and hope filled my soul. I was able to get up off the floor and face life in the middle of a storm. My husband NEVER changed, even though I prayed for God to save him too. I would see little glimpses every now over the next 15 years, evidence when God was reaching out to him, but my husband kept rejecting the tug.

The next 15 years of daily verbal and emotional abuse continued, and by this time a serious addiction to po*******hy, alcoholism, the infidelity continued. Many affairs emerged throughout the remaining 15 years. However, my new life in Christ gave me peace, joy, calm, and hope even in the middle of all of that.

My husband left me in 1993 for another affair (for a friend of mine this time.) It did break my heart that our family was divided, but God honored my faithfulness. I was so confused over why God did not save my husband as His Word promises that He will give us the desires of our heart if it lines up with His Will. Wouldn’t the salvation of a lost person line up with God’s Will? He spoke to me when I cried out to Him in a moment of anger, asking God, "WHY! Why didn't you save my husband?" His sweet, gentle voice responded and said, "I don't force My Will on anyone. I drew your husband many times, but He rejected me, so I turned him over to his sin. I WILL give you the desire of your heart.” That did not make sense, but I waited and trusted the Lord.

Three years later God blessed me with a wonderful, godly man who loves me and respects me, and helps me grow even more in my life with Christ. I DID receive the desire of my heart to have a Christian husband and my home and family be a life of peace and joy. It came in the form of a new husband and a new life in Christ.

My salvation story DID NOT STOP THERE!!! For the next 15 years following my salvation experience, I just felt like something was missing. I believed there was more to this Christian life than what I had. And I discovered there was indeed more.

I was STUCK at the foot of the cross, knowing in my heart there was more to this Christian life than just a ticket to Heaven. I could not name that more, I did not know what to look for or even how to ask for it.

Then one night at a Christian Women’s Aglow Conference in Moultrie, Georgia, I was in a building with about 500 other women worshiping and waiting to hear the Word from a speaker. While the music was playing, a little older lady with a bun and a long dress, came up to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, “You want more, don’t you?” I almost lost it! I broke out in tears and confessed to her, “YES!” She motioned for me to follow her to the back of the building where we sat down and she began to pray over me in the Spirit (in tongues.) She put her hand on my head and I began to pray as I felt a warm surge all over my body, and I, too, for the first time began to pray in the Spirit (in tongues) for the first time ever.

I was raised in a denomination that did NOT believed in or supported tongues (the gift of tongues or the prayer language of tongues) alive and active today. Many denominations believe the spiritual gifts ended when all of Jesus’ disciples and Paul passed away (which by the way, I know now this is not true - that false teaching.)

That night at the women’s conference, I was FILLED WITH the HOLY SPIRIT. Now, when I was saved I did receive the Holy Spirit, and He has been with me ever since, but that night He FILLED ME UP! I left that night in utter amazement at what had happened and could not even explain it in words to the other ladies who were there with me.

I did not see a sudden change in my Spiritual life overnight, but from that moment on my life began to dramatically change and all of these years later, 28+ years now, I am still growing and God keeps taking me to new levels.

All that said. So many people are stuck at the foot of the cross. The cross is important and necessary, salvation is necessary, but we are not supposed to stay there. God wants us to walk in the Kingdom of God here on Earth and not still just stand and wait at the cross. In order to grow in His Kingdom, we MUST move past the cross and not get complaisant to stay there. When Jesus died and was nailed to the cross but He did not stay there. He arose and set up His Kingdom here on Earth. That is where we are supposed to be (if interested in knowing more, check out my ministry page, Transformed Life Ministries, Inc. and watch my teachings, in several videos, scroll to the bottom and work your way up.)

What does WALKING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD LOOK LIKE?

[Matthew 6:9-15 KJV] 9 After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

[Matthew 6:33 NLT] 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

[Matthew 13:24, 31, 33, 38 NLT] 24 Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. ... 31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. ... 33 Jesus also used this illustration: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough." ... 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

[Mark 16:15 KJV] 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Romans 12:20-21 says, “Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink;

[Matthew 10:8 NLT] 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!
[Mat 10:1 NLT] 1 Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and [Mar 16:17-18 NLT] 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed." to heal every kind of disease and illness.

WHERE ARE YOU? Are you still standing at the foot of the cross (in other words, you've got your ticket to heaven, so all is good) or are you truly living in the Kingdom of God?

HOW DO YOU KNOW? Ask yourself, "What is my purpose for waking up each morning?" If it is just to make it through the day, go to work, come home, go to bed, and start all over again, day after day after day, resting in that fact that you are a Christian and one day you will go to Heaven, you are STUCK at the foot of the Cross. But if you wake up every day, talk to God, and LISTEN to His Voice as He tells you what your mission is for that day, you get out of bed and start your day on that mission (even when it includes work, school, etc.) and He uses you to touch lives EVERY DAY for the Kingdom of God, then you have moved past the cross and are flowing in Kingdom work.

ALL THAT SAID, I'm celebrating this week, not only celebrating a risen Savior but celebrating my new life that began 44 years ago and continues to give me a purpose each day until I do get to Heaven one day.

Vicki Lee Brown
vickileebrown@yahoo.com

06/28/2022

I WANTED TO BE UNPREGNANT
By Vicki Lee Brown

(Please Feel Free To Share)

In lieu of the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the Supreme Court, my emotions have been running all over the place as I have tried to put myself in the shoes of both sides of the argument. Many of my Christian friends would question why I would even have to give it a second thought of which side of the argument is the right one to support, as most Christians view abortion as taking the life of a baby, and for the record, I believe that. I am Pro-Choice, however. In other words, no person or government should ever have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do to my personal body; HOWEVER, the baby inside of a mother is also a personal body, and taking his/her life would certainly end a life of an actual baby. 95% of biologist surveyed (the professionals who would absolutely know the answer) confirms that life begins at conception. The other 5% refused to answer the question according to the surveys I have read.

But what most of my friends, and very few family members, are not aware of is the details of a time during my teen years when I had an unplanned pregnancy and how I processed decisions about my personal body during the first few months of my pregnancy. This is a story I have for the most part kept a secret for many years (I am 64 years old now) until just recently when God said, “It is time to share your story.” I remember God telling me these words about 3 years ago when I was preparing to speak at two different women’s conferences that year. I wasn’t ready, but God was. It was one of the hardest messages I have ever spoken to an audience of strangers in the 20 years I’ve been a public speaker for Christian women’s conferences. This past week when I heard the news of Roe vs. Wade, God spoke to me again and said, “It’s now time to tell your story to the world.” When I told my husband this, he warned me of the hate and backlash I’d probably receive. But greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world who will be coming against me! So here we go….

It was 1974-75 and I was a senior in high school. I was also engaged to be married to my high school sweetheart after graduation. When we started dating a year or so earlier, I made it very clear to my boyfriend that I was a virgin and I had planned to remain that way until I would someday marry. He left for basic training for the Army National Guard in the summer of 1974 and I focused on my senior year and our future wedding.

He came back home just before Christmas 1974 when all of his training was over and took his position with the local National Guard. That is when everything changed. I’ll give more details about that before this story is over.

In January 1975 I became pregnant. I went into total denial that this could even be happening. I taking a very strong prescription diet pill called Ionamin to lose weight before the wedding, even being monitored by a doctor, losing weight rapidly. I immediately thought this diet pill had stopped my menstrual period and even consulted my doctor about it. He never suspected I was pregnant but agreed that the diet pill could have had an effect on my cycle. So, I brushed it off. In February and March, I was experiencing morning sickness and having a hard time brushing my teeth without nausea, which my mother then noticed and began to suspect something was wrong. Again, I brushed it off blaming it on the diet pill. By April, I knew I was pregnant. The signs were obvious. I told no one. I refused to have a pregnancy test, but I knew I was. I had lost nearly 30 pounds since January, but there were changes in my body in which I just knew I had to be pregnant.

I did not want to be pregnant - for many reasons. I was 17 years old; I was still in high school. My parents were pastors of a church. Various friends and our church ladies had gone out of their way to give me wedding showers. A church member bought all the materials and notions needed for me to make my own wedding dress (yes, it was my senior home economic project.) My dad was going to officiate the wedding, invitations had already been ordered, the cake was ordered, and so the date could not be moved up any earlier. My greatest concern was the shame and guilt I was going to bring to my family. And then, about this time, a friend called and told me my fiancé had asked her out on a date. He was drunk when he asked, but he asked. I was in a very dark place in my life. What was I going to do?

I did not want to be pregnant. A couple of my friends had become pregnant earlier that year and had abortions. I did not believe in abortions. It was just the way I was raised. However, I did not want to be pregnant. As the black cloud became darker and days were approaching our pending wedding, which I was determined I was going to go through with (you will understand later), regardless of all the things that were going on in my life, I begin to rationalize in my mind a way to become “unpregnant.” At that time, I seriously was not thinking about the LIFE that was inside my body. I was only thinking about my own shame and guilt and that I was pregnant and it was not what I wanted. I wanted children one day, but not now.

I did not want to be pregnant, so I devised a plan to become “unpregnant.” I justified that if I could “miscarry” then I would no longer be pregnant. So I began to think of ways I could possibly cause a miscarriage. Let me stop here and just apologize to the millions of mothers out there who desperately want and child and have had miscarriages. (Please try not to judge me here, and please try to finish reading my story so you will know the final ending.) I devised a plan to go outside and play tackle football with my brother and his friends on a particular Saturday. I had played with them in the past (before pregnancy) and knew they played hard. I thought if I was tackled hard enough, I’d miscarry and that would be the answer to my dilemma. So I did. They didn’t suspect a thing. I played hard for hours. Nothing happened. But later that night, a much greater cloud of guilt and shame came over me, greater than the guilt and shame of being pregnant, the reality that I could have killed my child! Heaviness began that night that did not leave for nearly 19 years.

I hid my pregnancy until I was about 7 months pregnant. My mother was the only one who knew, but that wasn’t until 2 weeks before the wedding. After the wedding, we told my dad and our in-laws knew, but everyone else had no clue. Once the news broke that I was pregnant, people were happy for us but thought we were just finding out we were pregnant. However, when I had a 9-pound baby only 5 months after we were married, the rumors began to fly. It was the first time in my life I experienced “church hurt” by a few people who claimed to be Christians, as well as deacons and other leaders in the church, as I saw ugliness brought towards my parents and to us. My boss at work even threatened to fire me because I kept the secret from him for so long.

Let’s sidetrack here and back up to some important details. I’ve heard many say, “Just keep your pants zipped up and keep your legs closed and you won’t get pregnant.” I would say this may account for a lot of unwanted pregnancies, but not all. That was not the case for me, even though I was accused of “making poor choices and an unplanned pregnancy was my consequence.” No, my situation was different. Do you remember I told you I had told my boyfriend that I wanted to remain a virgin until I was married? I meant that, with all my heart. Well, something had changed in him while he was away at boot camp and AIT. Something was just not right when he came home; he came back a different person. He was aggressive, whereas before he was a kind and considerate gentleman, and never pushed me to have s*x before marriage. When he returned home, s*x was all he talked about, and kept putting pressure on me to cross that line. I kept saying, “No.” And I meant, “No.” The manipulation set in and came to the point where I felt he would break up with me if I did not give in. Without giving too many details about “that night,” let me just say things got way out of control and it wasn’t pretty. I have coined the phrase, “rape by manipulation” which is what happened to me that night. I broke up with him that night because of it, but as days went by (even though I was not a Christian at that time) the enemy’s voice reminded me that I was now “damaged goods” and how I was no longer a virgin and I needed to marry this guy so I would not be considered a w***e. I went back to him and we proceeded toward our wedding plans. I lost all of my self-worth and self-esteem and gave in to his every whim and fell under his manipulative control. I became pregnant immediately.

Fast forward. My beautiful baby boy was born but my marriage was a wreck early on. My husband began to have affairs (which ended up many over time) and became verbally, emotionally, and psychologically abusive to me and my son. I remained faithful and forgiving (don’t judge me, I made a vow before God till death we part.) My husband finally left me for one of his girlfriends after 19 years of marriage.

Why do I share this story? For two reasons. First, to say I totally understand the shame, confusion, disappointment, and fear of having an unplanned pregnancy. I also understand and personally experienced the ignorance of not truly understanding when life actually begins and that the “tissue” is actually a living, growing human being and has rights, too. Secondly, I write my story to hopefully help mothers who are struggling with an unplanned pregnancy to please understand that no life is an accident, no matter what the story of how you got pregnant (and there are many stories that are far more tragic than mine) but God is the creator of ALL life and your child is not a mistake. God has a definite plan and purpose for your child. God will use your child in a unique and mighty way if he/she is allowed to live, whether you choose to parent your child or to adopt your child to a loving family.

Let me tell you about my unplanned child, my son, Scott. I may have not planned him, but God did. He was no mistake by any means. Scott and I grew up together and have always been very close in our relationship. He tried to be close to his dad, but his dad kept a wedge between us all. But that did not stop the plan and purpose God had for Scott. Shortly after his dad and I divorced, I was still carrying that heavy dark cloud over my life of the attempt to miscarry Scott, God told me to apologize to Scott for what I had done. I was so afraid it would tear our relationship apart. But I had to obey (I was already a Christian by then.) Scott was 19 years old. He came over to my apartment and I told him my story and asked him to forgive me for trying to kill him. Scott looked at me with his beautiful brown eyes and said, “Mom, I do not remember you trying to kill me. However, if you need me to forgive you so that you can heal, then I forgive you.” That day was a life changer day for me. That heavy, heavy cloud of guilt and shame lifted off of me and I’ve never been the same since. Scott and I grew even closer in our mother/son relationship from that day forward.

After Scott graduated from high school he entered the Army and about 3 years later her met and married his beautiful wife, Kim. God called both of them into a POWERFUL healing and deliverance ministry. SO many lives have been changed through their ministry. They tried to start a family right after they married but had 10 years of heartache through infertility and miscarriages until God healed Kim’s womb and she had Ayden. Shortly after they adopted Addy (same age as Ayden), Taylor, and Riley. Scott and Kim have been used to plant healing and deliverance churches here in the states, as well as in Uganda. Before the end of time, I look for many more of their church plants to pop up in other places all over the world. SO MANY LIVES have been radically changed, from his beautiful family, and deaths that have been canceled, healings of every kind of sickness, and multitudes of people delivered and set free from demonic oppression, all because Scott was given LIFE.

Thank you, Lord!

(Note: If you have already made the decision in your past to abort your baby, he/she is safe in God’s loving arms. Please know that God still loves you and He only wants you to come to Him in repentance, which is turning away from your past mistakes, sinful lifestyle, and choices you have made, and turn to Him, surrender your life to Him and He will heal your heart and make you whole. If I can help you in any way or walk you through inner healing, please reach out to me here through a private message or email me at vickileebrown@yahoo.com. I am also a Certified Christian Life Coach for a local pregnancy care center and the staff and I are there to help you as well.. There will be absolutely no judgment in my heart towards you, only love.)

Please feel free to share.

06/08/2022

THE BISCUIT
By Vicki Lee Brown

God has always given me the burning desire to be a blessing to people by doing things for those in need. The problem is, most things cost money and I’ve never been in a position where I could give the “big” things I really wanted to give (cars, houses, groceries, etc.)

So, for years, rather than stepping out and just seeing what God would do with such a vision, I didn’t do anything! I just lived my life taking care of my needs.
But one day God began to deal with me in this area. He told me that I didn’t have to do “big” things. In God’s Kingdom, even the little things have a “big” impact on lives. With that, He inspired me to buy the first biscuit.

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
[Acts 20:35 NLT]

A few years ago, my morning routine before heading to work was to go through Bojangles and order a biscuit for my breakfast. The morning God began to deal with me about blessing others, He told me to step out of my comfort zone and pay for the meal of the person behind me in the drive-thru.

I argued with God about doing this. I don’t like recognition for doing good things. But God said to me, “Just do it.!” So I did it. The first time buying a stranger a meal was very uncomfortable, but as the weeks passed it became easier to tell the clerk at the window I wanted to pay for the meal of the person behind me in the drive-thru. I would usually go to the same Bojangles every morning and the clerks began to know my routine of paying for someone’s meal.

As I went through the drive-thru each morning, God told me He only wanted me to bless women with this “biscuit ministry” – a man may take it the wrong way!
Because of my lack of faith, I would ask the clerk at the window each time, “how much is the order behind me,” BEFORE telling her I would pay for it. One day I went through the drive-through and He taught me a BIG lesson in my “lack of faith.”

I saw a woman in a car behind me and I asked the clerk how much her breakfast was. The amount was double what I was prepared to pay! I only had $10 left after paying for my own breakfast. I argued with God that I could not do this today, but in His still, small voice said once again, “Just do it.” I paid for her meal, asked the clerk to tell the woman, “God loves you”, and I drove away.

Within minutes after leaving the drive-thru, I heard a car horn blowing behind me. I looked in my rear-view mirror and there was the woman whose meal I had bought! I tried to ignore her, but she followed me until I finally stopped at my parent’s house. I got out of my car and so did she. She had big tears in her eyes as I walked toward her. She was an older woman. She was having a very discouraging day and the act of kindness I showed her gave her encouragement. We talked for a while and I had an opportunity to invite her to church. We hugged and she left.

I called my mother to tell her what had just taken place because my mother taught the Women’s 60-70-Year-Old class at our church. This woman was in that same age group and actually knew my mother. I felt she needed encouragement and thought the class would visit her. Mother agreed and visited her a few times.

Even though I questioned the cost of buying someone’s meal that morning, God honored it!

“Now, therefore, perform the doing [of it]; that as [there was] a readiness to will, so [there may be] a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, [it is] accepted according to that a man hath, [and] not according to that he hath not.”
[2 Corinthians 8:11-12 KJV]

The following day, I went to the drive-thru at the same location. When I got to the window to pay for my breakfast, the clerk asked me if I was the woman who bought the meal for the woman the day before. Not wanting recognition, I reluctantly answered, “Yes.” She said, “You will NEVER believe what happened when you did that!” She told me that when she told the woman I paid for her meal and said to tell her, “God loves you”, the woman broke down and cried. The clerk said it made her cry, too.

The clerk began to tell me that when the woman drove away, another car pulled up and the woman driving the next car said, “I would like to buy the breakfast of the car behind me!” The clerk was a little shocked, but rang up the next car’s order and took her money. Then when the next car pulled up and was told her breakfast was paid for, that woman began to cry! So did the clerk! THEN, when her car left, another car pulled up and the person driving the next car said, “I would like to buy the breakfast from the car behind me!” This time the clerk questioned the motives and asked a driver if a church in town was doing something special that day, like “Buy Someone’s Breakfast Day," or something? The woman said, “No.” When the clerk explained what was happening, that woman began to cry!

The very next day, the manager was working the window when I showed up for my routine biscuit. He recognized my car and asked if I was the woman who bought the meal for the woman two days earlier. I replied, “Yes.” He said the chain continued through EIGHT cars (including mine). The clerks at the window were so shocked at what was happening they had to tell him about it. I told him, “You know that was God, don’t you?” With tears in his eyes, he answered, “Yes, I know!”

Remember, YOU have to take the first step in trusting God.

02/14/2022

LOVE, FOUND THROUGH A FAX MACHINE 25 years ago.

(Back in the day) I owned a horse magazine in Tifton, GA. We were the largest circulated horse magazine in the Southeast. One of our customers lived in FL and had sent me a full page to promote a stud horse he had available for breeding. I made it a practice to fax the finished ad to the customer before going to print; that way, if there were a mistake in the ad they could catch it before it was permanently printed in the magazine.

In November 1996, I faxed this customer his ad, and for some reason the ad kept cutting off halfway on his end. I tried numerous times and it would never fax the entire page. The customer (in FL) told me he was heading to PA for vacation that day and would stop by my office in Tifton and look at the ad in person. He arrived at 4:00pm.

I came to work that day with NO makeup on, hair in a pony tail, had just had knee surgery and had a brace on my leg, braces on my teeth - homely!! We rarely had walk-in traffic and it was a deadline day, so I expected no one to be there that day. But when he arrived, he noticed my car parked out front with a for-sale sign on it.

He was looking for a car for his son. When he looked in the windows of my car, he saw my Bible (I had left it in my car from the night before, where I was teaching a "Divorce Recovery" class at my church), and thought, "she must be a Christian."

He walked in, I was the only one there, and we went over his ad, which was perfect. While he was sitting there a phone call came in from a lady in my DR class who needed to talk. I explained that I had a customer and I would call her back later. This customer heard my short conversation and picked up on the fact that I was teaching a DR class.

He began to share his story that he was going through a divorce, his wife had filed for divorce 3 months earlier. He had been married for 21 years, and she left him, as well as left their 2 boys with him. We sat and shared our stories for the next 4 hours, with tears.

When he got up to leave, he asked me if he could call me sometimes. I turned him down. You see, I had been single for 3 years, and had going through lots of heartache even through the 3 years following my devastating divorce from my husband of nearly 20 years.

Three days before meeting this customer I had come to a place in my life where I was so broken that I cried out to God to keep His arms around my heart, protect me from any more rejection. Actually, I did not ever want to date again until God decided to send me the man HE wanted me to marry.

It had only been 3 days since that prayer, so I didn't think this was "God" sending me a man so soon. I turned him down.

The next day, I received a fax from him (my fax machine worked fine!), and it was a long page where he thanked me for taking the time to listen to him and how it ministered to him, and was helping him to begin healing. At the end he asked if he could call me. I threw the fax letter away. I was convinced it was a "trick from the devil" just to get me tied up again into another heartbreaking relationship.

The 3rd day after I met this customer, I had a knock at my office door and it was the florist. He was holding a vase with 3 roses. A pink rose, a blue rose (yep, it was blue), and a white rose. The card with the flowers stated that the pink rose represented me, the blue rose represented him (the customer), and the white rose represented Jesus Christ, Who should be the center of all relationships, whether they be friend or more, and once again he asked if he could call me.

I knew right at that moment, when I read that card, this was the man I was suppose to marry and God had sent him into my life. I had so much peace about this. I began planning my wedding that day!

A week later, when he (by now, you know the customer was Frank) returned from PA to FL, and he called me to see if I had received the roses and if he could please call me. I accepted.

Frank asked me to marry him exactly 3 weeks after we had met on when he came into my office, and we married on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1997, exactly 3 months after the day we had met. We did not plan, nor even notice the 3 week mark or 3 month mark, nor any of the 3's in our story until much later in our marriage! Oh, and he gave me his mother's special ring as my engagement ring, which had 3 diamonds in it, and it fit my finger perfectly without having to be resized. We didn't think about the 3 diamonds until months later.

Today, Valentine's Day 2022, I am celebrating 25 years with my wonderful, "God sent" husband. We definitely had an "arranged marriage."

Oh, and a side note, we continued to live between GA and FL for 3 years after we got married, before moving to Northwest GA.

Sidebar: 2 years before I met Frank, 1 year after my divorce, a minister told me God had given him a prophetic dream about me and my future husband. He said the man had a goatee, was leaning on a blue and white Ford pickup truck, was a lot like my daddy, and ther was a compass floating in the air pointing in the direction of Northwest. He said that God said, in the dream, that we would not meet until later because God was doing a "work" in both of us because if we meet now it would be a disaster. 2 years later, when I met Frank, he had a goatee, but none of the other things matched. HOWEVER, 2 weeks later, while eating supper with his niece he raised, she asked him where his old truck was. He said he had sold it a few months earlier. I looked at Frank and asked if it was a blue and white Ford. He said yes, it was a blue with a white camper and it was a Ford. Well, I couldn't figure out the compass, then Frank said that Ashburn/Tifton, GA (where I lived), was Northwest from Palatka, FL (where Frank lived.) And over the years now, my mom and I laugh OFTEN of the huge similarities my dad and Frank have.

So....I guess I married the right man!!!

2022

Vicki Lee Brown