Meet my mom, Rhonda.
She’s a sweet woman of God, who is sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and longs for revival. I’ve had the privilege of watching her live a “Heaven rules” kind of life since I can remember, and for the past year, she’s been putting hands and feet to this mindset in a unique way.
Last September, my mom left True Woman ’22 with a copy of Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book Heaven Rules in her hands. Since then, she’s ordered twelve more copies. But, get this, she’s never finished the book. Why? Because she keeps giving her copy away.
First, to a few family friends, then, to a member of our church, and then, to complete strangers. Each time she feels the Lord prompt her heart, she hands her unfinished copy of Heaven Rules to someone else and orders a new one for herself. By the time she receives a new book and gets a few pages farther, the process starts all over again. At the time that I’m writing this, she’s finally made it to page 121! Pull up a chair and join our conversation about how she’s sharing hope one book at a time.
Conversation Starters
Ashley: Mom, how many Heaven Rules books have you given away?
Rhonda: So far I’ve given eleven copies away. I just got my twelfth one in the mail. By now I probably should have learned that I need to order two at a time!
Ashley: Why have you been giving away copies of Heaven Rules?
Rhonda: As I’ve been reading, whether I’m at home or on my lunch break at work, sometimes when I’m sitting in appointment waiting rooms, or anywhere else, the Lord has been so faithful to bring people to my mind that need to know or be reminded of the truth that Heaven rules. Sometimes I know the situation they’re in. I gave one copy to a friend at church who is battling cancer and another copy to a friend who just lost a loved one. Sometimes, though, I have no idea why I’m giving them the book but I trust that God knows.
In one of those instances, I was reading my copy of Heaven Rules in the doctor’s office while waiting for my appointment. I had slipped the little jacket off of the book because I don’t like it to get all torn up when I’m traveling around. On the front of the book, there are two little symbols, one pointing up and one pointing down. There was an older gentleman in a wheelchair sitting across from me, and I could see him sort of glancing at the cover of the book from time to time. At that point, the Holy Spirit started to prompt me to start up a conversation with this man and to give him the book. And the whole time I was thinking, Lord, I have no idea who this guy is. I don’t know a thing about him, how in the world am I supposed to start a conversation with him and then say, “Oh, by the way, I want you to have this book.”?
Well, it’s just like the Lord to do something like this because about a minute later, this older gentleman looks up and says, “Excuse me, but I’ve been looking at the front of your book for a while now, and I’m really curious about it. Is that a symbol for something? Or is it some sort of different language?”
Conversation started!
We talked for a few minutes and when they called me back for my appointment, I reached over and handed him the book and said, “I want you to have this.” He was so touched that a complete stranger would give him something that he was tearing up.
I’m not sure if he ever read it. I hope that he did, but even the act of giving him the book was a tangible way to show Christ’s love to this man. I don’t know what was going on in his life. I don’t even know his name, but I know that the Lord knows him inside and out and that He can do a mighty work in his life through seeds that may have been planted in his heart that day. I will probably never see what becomes of that whole situation, but that’s alright with me if Christ was glorified in it.
A Heaven Rules Mentality
Ashley: Why do you think people need to hear the truth that Heaven rules?
Rhonda: Even though I haven’t finished the book yet, the truths in it are so timely and grounding. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that we don’t need to rely on the truth that Heaven rules.
We live in a world that can feel uncertain. You really don’t know what’s going to happen next, but God is faithful. He’s steady. He’s the only thing that is never going to change. When we’re faithful, He is faithful. When we’re faithless, He’s faithful. When we don’t know what to do, He is in control. When we know exactly what we’re going to do (or at least we think we do), He is in control. There is nothing that happens to us, and there’s nothing that we can do that takes God by surprise. He’s been lovingly on His throne the whole time. Every circumstance, every trial, every blessing that comes into our lives is to bring Him glory.
There’s peace in knowing that Heaven rules, and people need to know that truth.
Ashley: What does it look like when someone lives their life with a Heaven rules mentality?
Rhonda: It looks like trusting the Lord when times are good and when times are difficult. And it looks like thanking the Lord when times are good and when times are difficult. That doesn’t mean that things aren’t hard, and you might need to encourage your soul in the truth that Heaven rules minute after minute. But at the end of the day, if you’re living with a Heaven rules mentality, you’re secure because you know that God is sovereign and in control. We might not know what He’s doing, but we know that He is good and we know that He works all things for His glory and our good. We also know that there’s a day coming when He will wipe every tear from our eyes and right every wrong. Heaven rules now, and everyone will see that Heaven rules on that day!
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