God Speaks

Good Morning All,

Unlikely places, unlikely faces, unlikely circumstances…when considered as positive situations, I can look at them as good surprises; when considered as negative experiences, I can look at them as barriers to other things. But in general, all of these remind me of how unpredictable life really is. For the most part, I really appreciate and enjoy the times when my world is infused with unpredictability. Because when I’m struck with the unpredictability stick, I know I have been spared from having a ho-hum, ministry as usual kind of day…But also know I’m grateful that it doesn’t happen all the time :) Regardless of my day, I need to always anticipate as each day unfolds that I will meet some aspect of the unknown and will need to roll with the punches.

Some days though, when I least expect it, I encounter people whom I haven’t seen for ages; maybe they are former members who stop by to chat as they pass through town; or I bump into former members who have moved out of the area at the Fairgrounds Flea Market; and other days it’s meeting a stranger on the street or in a store or at the gasoline pump.

As I reflect on these encounters, I wonder what to make of them. Are they simply a nod to chance? Signs of something more meaningful? A “God-happening” perhaps? Maybe a combination? In any case, I find myself paying more attention to them than I used to.

Not too long ago I was waiting for friends to arrive at a restaurant. A woman and her children emerged from the restroom and approached me to ask if I were waiting on the children they saw in the restroom. I said, “No, I’m not.” “Oh, well, I just wanted their parents to know that they are the nicest and most polite children I’ve seen in a long time.” “How nice of you to seek out the parent to tell them something good about their kids.”

And then almost as if in the same breath, she gave me a handwritten note. She said that she felt called to give it to me…
“God makes a promise—
Faith believes it,
Hope anticipates it,
Patience quietly awaits it…”
And as she left she said, “Have a blessed day…”

Hmmmm…What a great way to share your faith with a stranger. I applaud her for finding a way to witness to her faith in a non-threatening; non-offensive way. We can all learn from this as you and I attempt to discover our own ways of telling others how important God is in our lives. But the question remains, “Was this a nod to chance? A “God-happening?” Who’s to say for sure? Maybe it takes such chance happenings for God to speak to us?

Last Sunday during the Children’s Moment I asked the children how God speaks to them/us. After quickly ruling out cell phones, computers, telephone, writing a letter or note, one child with his hand slowly waving in the air, quietly says, “God speaks to us through our feelings…we just know…” “Yes, we just know, don’t we?”

Unlikely place, unlikely face, unlikely circumstance…Waiting for friends outside a restaurant… receiving a handwritten note from a stranger…Maybe God really does write notes…
Blessings, Joanne