Beyond Appearances: Finding Wisdom in Unexpected Places

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Community Announcements
• 4:12 My Journey to Christianity
• 6:57 Meeting Sister Beatrice Stansky
• 10:52 Judgment vs. True Wisdom
• 13:42 Life Lessons from Sister Stansky
• 20:37 Learning to Listen Beyond Differences
• 22:42 Prayer and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Audrey: 1:13

Hello and welcome back to Grace From my Home. I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm so glad to be back with you again this week. I wanted to start off today by reminding you that on Saturday, august 9th, I am having a prayer gathering at Awaken Coffee Shop and that's in Mullen, south Carolina. It's called Covered in Prayer A Night for Moms and from 5 to 7 pm we're going to have a meal together, talk, get to know each other and we're going to pray for our children. If you live in or around the Mullins area, we would so love to have you. This week I am going to be on a friend's podcast and once I have the information and the details I'll pass that along to you. But I met Steph through my podcast. She's a long-time listener to Grace from my home. I had the opportunity to meet her at our coffee shop, at Awaken Coffee Bar, probably six months ago now. She was in the United States visiting family and she drove to see us. She drove to meet me and to see our coffee shop and it was such a blessing to get to know her, to meet her face to face, and she has asked me to have a conversation with her on her podcast. So next week I'll give you more information about that. But as I was preparing to speak on Steph's podcast, I was going back and thinking about some things and I remembered a person who really influenced me as a young Christian and it just kind of tied into some of the things that I'm going to talk with Steph about. But I wanted to share a few of these things with you because I really think it's very encouraging.

Audrey: 3:00

I've shared part of my story on the podcast before. I did not grow up in a Christian home, but I did grow up going to church. I had a grandmother who made sure that I went with her, that my sister and I were in church with her every Sunday, and I'm very thankful for that. My sister and I were in church with her every Sunday and I'm very thankful for that. So I grew up in church. I knew church culture. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for that introduction to who God is and who Jesus is. That's a foundation that if you don't have that, it's not that it's impossible to overcome, but it's so much easier when you have that foundation to believe in Jesus, when you know who Jesus is, when you've been taught who he is. So I'm thankful for that foundation, but I did not make a true commitment of my life to Jesus to serve him until I was in my 20s. It was actually my last year in college and I became a Christian that last year.

Audrey: 3:59

I'm very thankful that I had a church family with a very wise man, a very wise pastor, who helped me a great deal. He became more of a father to me really than a pastor and I'm very thankful for that. He's still in my life today. But one of the things that he taught me was to seek wisdom. He taught me about having a daily time with Jesus, to seek him, to pray to him, to listen, to read the word. But he also taught me to seek wisdom, the importance of seeking wisdom. And, guys, wisdom doesn't always show up the way we think it's going to show up. Actually, it never shows up the way we think it's going to show up. Wisdom is calling. It says in Proverbs that wisdom she's calling out for those who will come. But we have to humble ourselves to receive God's wisdom.

Audrey: 5:00

And I was reminded, as I was preparing for this podcast with Steph, of a little missionary lady who I met early on in my Christian walk. Her name was Sister Beatrice Stansky, and she loved the Lord. When I met Sister Stansky she was in her 80s, she was in her early 80s and she was a missionary, had been a missionary for many years. M y pastor knew her and had invited her to come to our church and speak and, to be quite honest with you, at first I really didn't think I was going to be a fan, and I'll tell you why. I'll pull back the curtain and give you a little bit of insight. My mom had grown up in a very strict religious denomination and that was one of the reasons that she did not go to church when she got married and moved away from home, because it was a very legalistic culture. In that church you don't wear pants, you don't wear makeup, you don't wear jewelry, and my mom just felt like she couldn't live up to the standards and that people were very judgmental, and so she associated that with God and she didn't really want anything to do with that. And so when I heard that this little

Audrey: 6:28

lady was coming and that she too did not wear makeup, she only wore dresses. She didn't wear pants, she didn't wear jewelry.

Audrey: 6:39

The first thing I thought was I really don't want anything to do with that type of Christianity. It left a bad taste in my mouth. A very strict religious background like that or in a very strict religious denomination that was very legalistic a lot of times those people did not go on to serve the Lord and I didn't want that. That wasn't the kind of relationship I wanted with Jesus. I wanted to know Him and I didn't want to be hung up on the outside things. You know, I wanted to know him and I didn't want to be hung up on the outside things.

Audrey: 7:20

Well, my pastor, you know he, this lady, this missionary that he knew and thought a lot of was coming into town and she was in her 80s and she did not drive, she had people who drove her places. He asked me to spend the day with her, take her where she needed to go, you know, get her whatever she needed, and just to spend that time with her. And at first I really didn't want to do that. I wasn't, I was kind of hesitant, but I did it for him and I'm so glad I did, because when I told him I said well, you know, I just don't know. I don't know that you know we're going to really hit it off too well, and he told me. He said, audrey, yes, she believes these things that are different than the way you believe, but her heart is pure. And I didn't know what that meant. I didn't quite get it, but after I spent a couple of days with her, I got it.

Audrey: 8:13

She was not judgmental and critical. Yes, she believed that Jesus wanted us to do certain things, things that I didn't necessarily feel convicted to do, ways that she was brought up, that this is how a godly woman lives or dresses or, you know, believes. And I didn't necessarily believe all of those things that she did, but I could not deny, after spending time with her, that she loved Jesus. When she would pray and she prayed often it was like she was having a conversation with Jesus, and at this time I was so hungry for Jesus. I was so hungry to know him and to find out more about him, and so when I got around her and she would pray, I wanted whatever she had. I was like what is this? You know, this lady talks to Jesus like they're best friends and she had such a peace about her and she was not judgy.

Audrey: 9:14

She did not make me feel less than I think that was one of my biggest fears. I was already struggling with my self-confidence and trying to serve the Lord and didn't feel like I was worthy, coming from the background that I had, and I didn't want to feel judged. Well, she didn't make me feel judged at all. She had a very sweet spirit about her and as I was with her I learned a lot of things.

Audrey: 9:40

And, guys, god wants to teach us wisdom but it rarely comes in the package that we're expecting and sometimes we can let the outward appearances keep us from finding God, from finding wisdom, because it's packaged different than we expect it to be or different than we want it to be. Today, where we really do judge a book by its cover, and there's wisdom and looking beyond the outward appearance and the labels and really getting to the heart of the matter. And this woman I had judged because of her denomination and because of the things I knew about her. But the truth is she loved Jesus and we as Christians, we must be wise as serpents. The Bible says be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. If we will allow the Lord, he will teach us things. But we have to humble ourselves and we have to let go of our preconceived ideas and we have to let people be people and we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us discernment and wisdom.

Audrey: 11:04

And you know, let me just tell you a few of the things that I learned from Sister Beatrice Stansky. Like I said, when I met her, she was in her early 80s and she was planning a trip to Egypt. Now Egypt is not an easy country for a Christian minister to get into. But see, sister Stansky, if you passed her in the Walmart you probably wouldn't look twice, because she was just a little old lady with a cane and she didn't look like a minister of the gospel. She was just a little old lady but she was a fireball when she got behind the pulpit. And I remember her saying that her friends didn't understand because to them she was just Beatrice or B.

Audrey: 11:54

But when she got up to speak to a crowd, the Lord would anoint her or give her the power to do what he asked her to do, and she would just speak the word boldly. And that was very interesting to me as a young Christian because I had felt like the Lord had called me also. At one time I felt like the Lord had called me into missions and I knew I was called into ministry. I thought, perhaps missions, but I didn't feel equipped. I didn't feel capable or able. And she shared with me. You're not supposed to. Whatever God calls you to do, he will give you an anointing for that. He will give you an anointing. It's just the ability, the God given ability. It's not about your talents or your ability or or even your dedication to figure something out. It's about God giving you his grace, his divine enablement to do whatever he calls you to do. And I saw that on her. She was meek and mild and not something that would turn heads, but when she was doing what God called her to do, she just flowed in it. There was just such a grace on her to speak the word clearly and accurately and with boldness, and I saw that in her. Another thing she taught me, I remember she said one time you have to always have a goal.

Audrey: 13:25

Now she was in her eighties and she was planning her next trip to Egypt. Like I said, she was planning her next trip to Egypt. Like I said, she was planning her next trip to Egypt and then she was going to go from there to Israel. Her husband was Jewish, he had passed away several years before, but they had family in Israel. But she had a friend. She told me she found a young woman to go with her. Now, that young woman was in her 60s because I guess when you're 80, you know people in their 60s are young. So she had a 60-year-old lady who was going to go with her on these trips. But she said you know, when I get back, she was planning on going to Hawaii. She had a, a group of people that she ministered with in Hawaii and then she was going to go to I think it was Portugal, but she had all these places lined up and she was in her 80s.

Audrey: 14:14

And I and I asked her you know, are you, are you thinking about slowing down? She'd been doing this for 50 years. She said, oh no, she no. She said when I slow down, I'll stop, it'll just stop. She said I always have a goal. I always have something that I'm working on. And she said you got to have a goal. She said a goal gives you a reason to get up in the morning. It gives you a reason to keep on going when you want to stop, it gives you a reason when you fall down to get back up. So, she said she.

Audrey: 14:44

She taught me that Should you always have to have a goal, something that you're working on, something that you're working towards, so you don't get stuck in what's wrong right now you know and the issues and the problems you have right now? You don't want to get stuck there. If you're looking forward, then that that goal, that desire, that purpose will pull you forward in hard times. And so that was something else that she taught me. She was 80 years old and she had goals. She had years worth of goals ahead of her. She actually passed away at the age of 94. So when I knew her, when I first met her, it would look like she was at the end of her career, the end of her life. She still went on for 14 more years preaching God's word, ministering in these foreign countries, going to places that it was hard for missionaries, christians, to get into and she was very unassuming to. And she was very unassuming, she was very meek, but she had a desire to do God's work and she had such a love for Jesus and such a love for people.

Audrey: 15:52

Another thing that she taught me. I remember I called her one day and I said how are you doing? And she said well, I'm getting out of the belly of the whale. I'm getting out. I've been in the belly for three days and I'm getting out. And, guys, I really had no idea what she was talking about. That was like a foreign language to me. And I said what do you mean? And she was almost a little frustrated. I guess this was common vernacular in her denomination and her group of friends. But I said I don't know what you mean. What do you mean? You're getting out of the belly of the whale?

Audrey: 16:25

And she said what I mean is that the Lord has been talking to me about doing something and I've been resistant. And when God tells you to do something, he's not going to let it go until you do it. And I said well, what do you mean? She said well, god has asked me to do something and I didn't want to do it. So I just ignored him, I just pretended I didn't hear.

Audrey: 16:49

She said but the relationship stops when you stop obeying. He's not going to give you the next assignment until you do the last assignment. It's kind of like Jonah and the whale. You know, lord, I want you to go to Nineveh. No, I'm going to go the other way. I'm going to go in the other direction. Well, no, you're not. You're going to be in the belly of the well until you decide to obey.

Audrey: 17:15

And that was a wonderful lesson to teach a young Christian that it's not about what I want to do or where I want to go. Where is God sending me? And I can't fake it, I can't pretend I'm obeying him when he knows and I know that I'm not. And so I learned so many wonderful lessons from this saint, this woman of God, who had served Jesus with her whole life, with her whole heart. And one of the biggest lessons I learned is that we will miss the greatest blessings, the greatest friendships, if we judge people by our own standards, if we cut off a whole group of people because they don't dress like us or act like us or think like us, if we have preconceived ideas of what a godly person is, and we meet somebody who perhaps does not meet up to our standard or doesn't fit the mold that we have created in our minds of what a Christian is, then we can really miss God, we can miss out on the blessing that he wants to give us.

Audrey: 18:24

So, guys, let's learn to be wise. Let's learn to judge, to make a righteous judgment, and not judge people on their denomination or the way they talk or the things that we think are important as Christians. Let's allow God the freedom to teach us something through somebody that we would not choose and you know I would have if I had not listened to my pastor and if I had put up a wall between myself and her and said, no, I don't want to learn anything from this woman who doesn't believe exactly the way I believe. Then I would have missed out on a friend and I wouldn't have learned the wisdom that God wanted to teach me through her. And so I just I ask you today to use that, use my lesson in your life.

Audrey: 19:17

You know where is God leading you. What lessons does he want to teach you? Through unexpected circumstances or unexpected people, you know he's always teaching. You know the school of the Holy Spirit is always in session. He has things he wants to teach us every day, and if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, then we can learn. We can hear his voice as he's trying to get good information to us. He's trying to teach us things that he knows that we need. So I hope that this has been a blessing to you.

Audrey: 19:56

I just wanted to share a little bit about the life of Sister Beatrice Stansky. She was a blessing in my life and I know she was a blessing to many others and, like I said, she wasn't from my denomination. Her ways were not to my liking. But there are people all over the world who think differently but love Jesus and we need to make room for them and the wisdom that God has given them. You know, we don't need to turn that wisdom away. Maybe God wants to teach us through somebody who we don't particularly like their ways, but God has a plan. Amen.

Audrey: 20:34

Let's pray, father.

Audrey: 20:36

I pray today for myself and for these ladies who are listening.

Audrey: 20:40

I pray, lord, that you would teach us wisdom. That, lord, you would speak to our hearts and our minds. That, lord, you would help us to get out of our own way. And, lord, that you would help us to have ears to hear that we would not turn away people just because they don't fit our brand of Christianity. That Lord, you would help us to see past the outside and look into the heart. And Lord, help us to have the mercy and the grace, lord, with other people that you have with us. And, lord, we thank you for your goodness, for your grace, for your kindness, lord, and that you're so patient with us. And Lord, I pray for these ladies. That, lord, they would have a wonderful week and that they would hear your voice in Jesus name. Amen. Don't forget if you live in the Mullins area, please sign up for Covered in Prayer, a Night for Moms. I would so love to meet you, to learn about you, to hear your story, and meet me back here next week and we'll talk again. God bless, bye-bye.