Glimpse of Glory

By Alma Newitt

Some years ago I met a person who had such a glow on her face that I felt compelled to ask about it.  She was in the midst of moving and a mutual friend had asked me to return something to her before she left town.  Though she was very busy, she responded to my question and took time to tell me her story.

She had been an abused child with an alcoholic father and ran away from home at an early age.  A number of therapists had treated her for severe depression.  There had been a succession of unhappy affairs.  Finally, when a lover who was also her spiritual guru abandoned her, she broke down and her psychiatrist wasn’t able to reach the depths of her despair.

One day when she was near suicide, her landlady told her if she gave her life to Jesus, He would help her.  The young woman had previously disdained this simplistic solution, but in her desperation she turned to Him and experienced an overwhelming sense of His reality.  After this she began to read the Bible and attend church.  Then she stopped seeing her psychiatrist.  Her concerned landlady felt that this was a mistake, that she still needed counseling.  The young woman reassured her she wasn’t giving up counseling, just switching counselors.  She had read Jesus’ words, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest”, and she was going to go to Him instead of her psychiatrist.

After that when times of depression came, she would stretch out on the floor face down and pour out all the grief and anguish of her heart.  Then she would wait in His presence until her burden was lifted.  I asked her how long she waited.  She said many hours sometimes. 

As I looked at the peace and radiance of this woman’s countenance, I realized she had discovered the secret of transformation.  God’s strength was being perfected in her weakness.  Again and again she brought the lead of her pain and waited for the divine alchemist to change it to gold.  And in the process, the nature of Christ had begun to manifest through her.

I never saw this young woman again and our mutual friend lost track of her, so I know nothing more of her journey.  But she remains vivid in my memory because the glory I saw in her made me homesick for the kingdom of heaven.

                                                                                                            Alma Newitt