She had no idea what would result from sending an encouraging Bible passage to the wrong number when she did it.
When Brenda Rivera offered her buddy the Lord’s advice to ‘do nothing out of selfish desire or vain conceit’ in 2009, she really uplifted Isiah Stearns, a complete stranger.
‘Amen to that, who is this?’ Isiah retorted. Brenda immediately realized she had the wrong number and expressed regret. But Isiah had a different perspective.
He claimed to TODAY that he saw someone making an effort to encourage him in his connection with God and decided to create a commotion out of the encounter.
Brenda was ’a little creeped out’ when he called the next day, but she persisted in hoping he would leave a voicemail expressing how much the Bible verse had lifted his spirits. He did.
‘I could just tell he was sincere. Hence, I decided, ‘Well, I’m going to call him again,’ ‘Brenda stated, adding
that she had found out he was only 50 minutes away in Ohio, where her family was. ‘I mentioned that perhaps we could meet up when I go see my family. We clicked right away.’
During lunch, her mother returned and gave the potential husband an 11 out of 10, informing her daughter that she would ’marry this person.’
Isiah and Brenda Stearns have been married for 13 years and have 6 children together: Victoria is 11 years old, Veronica is 10, Samuel is 9, Vanessa is 7, Benjamin is 4, and Ezra is 1.
Isiah, meanwhile, gave up his skinhead appearance in favor of a thick salt-and-pepper headband.
Brenda stated
that she could never picture raising such a brood without Isiah by her side because of the unique ways in which the Lord operates.