The Waiting Room....
It was a normal day. Hot, muggy, and I had no time to stop and get my oil changed. But, it was time. We were leaving to go out of town for the weekend and the hubs told me that no matter what I did that day, I HAD to get the oil changed in the car. [insert me rolling my eyes]
Well, since I had to sit for 30 minutes, I decided to bring thank you cards to write, and my prayer journal to jot in. Why not. I had nothing else to do in this tiny waiting room wasting 30 minutes of my day.
I gave the mechanic the keys to my car, made my way to the waiting area and plopped down. I reached down to pull my thank you notes out of my bag. As I was fumbling around for a pen, I glanced up and saw a lady sitting across from me.
Oh shoot. I need to be friendly. I need to at least smile. Please Lord, don't make me talk to her. I just wanna be invisible for a few minutes and do my thing. Please. Please. Please.
I was hoping she was engrossed in her phone. Please, let her be browsing social media or something so that I don't have to do small talk. I hate small talk. I like deep talk, or no talk at all. And today, I preferred the latter.
Our eyes met. I smiled at her. She smiled back. We said hello.
Immediately, the mechanic came back to ask me a question. Whew. Dodged a bullet there.
I answered him, then he and I discussed some mutual friends we had and the local church that he was a member of.
He left to go back and work on my car, and this lady and I were left. Just the two of us. It could not have been quieter. Ugh.
I glanced a quick look at her again.
She smiled.
I smiled back and reached for my bag of goodies, and something in my heart told me to "be still."
I have a healthy fear of the Lord, not because I am super holy, because I have disobeyed Him one too many times. I know it always works out better in the end if I will just LISTEN and OBEY. [remind me of this often, ok?]
I put my bag back down on the floor.
The conversation started.
We talked, and talked, and talked some more.
Without divulging too much of our conversation, I will just say that by the end of our conversation, I was sitting beside her, holding her hand and praying over her. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of how much Jesus loved this lady. How much Jesus had done to prepare the tiniest of details for the two of us to be in the same room together at that very time. And, for her to be unlucky enough to sit across from a crazy praying-out-loud-in-public kinda woman.
I had asked the Lord that morning to lead and direct my steps. I was hoping for a peaceful, not-very-eventful-day. He did just the opposite.
He put me in an uncomfortable place. With a stranger.
I had a choice. I could ignore the Holy Spirit's nudge to put down my phone, and my thank you notes, or I could obey and let Him do the rest.
The irony of all of this is that I needed to meet her. I needed to hear what she had to say. I was the one that was a wreck inside. My faith was wavering and I was in desperate need of Jesus to show me that He saw me, and that He could hear me. I was in desperate need of a faith filling.
Have you ever been mad at your husband, or a sibling, or a parent...and you decide to go and vent to someone? But, as soon as they affirm you and agree with you, you get defensive over the person you are venting about. Suddenly, you take their side and end up defending the very person you were complaining about. What in the world?
This is kind of what happened here. As soon as I was met with someone who needed some serious Jesus filling, I was suddenly jumping at the opportunity to share my Savior with her.
Just days before, I had been in a serious faith funk. Doubting Thomas had NOTHING on me.
So many times I look for Him to write me a message in the sky. Or, to send me a scripture that just appears in front of me... just anything! I need to know He sees me and that He hears me. I am suddenly reminded of the Pharisees who demanded a sign from Jesus. Like, being the Son of God just wasn't enough. [I am like the Pharisees at times.]
Yet, so often He reveals Himself in the smallest, tiniest of details. The details hat I could easily overlook if I don't choose to have my spiritual eyes on.
And, it is always through His people. Always.
The man-child at Publix.
The lady at the Dump.
The lady at the homeless shelter.
The lady in the waiting room of an auto repair shop.
I just noticed something here. Notice the common thread of these stories. A special needs man-child, a place called The Dump, a Homeless Shelter, and a dusty auto repair shop.
Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:27
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:36-40
Can I just say for the record that I had no idea how this post would go. I just felt a huge nudge so sit and tell the story of the lady I met while getting my oil changed. Friends, with the Lord, we just have to take the first step of obedience. He will provide the next step for us. Every single time.
Our obedience expresses our complete trust in HIM. This is what He wants from us. Not dependent on Him "proving Himself to us" before we decide to believe Him and trust Him.
Look for Him to reveal Himself to you in the small things. In the lowly things, places, and people.
We will never find Him rubbing elbows with the elite. He is found sitting on the floor with His children, and washing their feet.
He told Peter, "Feed my sheep"
We are His sheep.
We need feeding.
All of us.
Look around you today. Ask God where you can help feed His sheep today. In turn, you will be fed.
Greater than you could ever imagine.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9
looking for sheep,
jill
Well, since I had to sit for 30 minutes, I decided to bring thank you cards to write, and my prayer journal to jot in. Why not. I had nothing else to do in this tiny waiting room wasting 30 minutes of my day.
I gave the mechanic the keys to my car, made my way to the waiting area and plopped down. I reached down to pull my thank you notes out of my bag. As I was fumbling around for a pen, I glanced up and saw a lady sitting across from me.
Oh shoot. I need to be friendly. I need to at least smile. Please Lord, don't make me talk to her. I just wanna be invisible for a few minutes and do my thing. Please. Please. Please.
I was hoping she was engrossed in her phone. Please, let her be browsing social media or something so that I don't have to do small talk. I hate small talk. I like deep talk, or no talk at all. And today, I preferred the latter.
Our eyes met. I smiled at her. She smiled back. We said hello.
Immediately, the mechanic came back to ask me a question. Whew. Dodged a bullet there.
I answered him, then he and I discussed some mutual friends we had and the local church that he was a member of.
He left to go back and work on my car, and this lady and I were left. Just the two of us. It could not have been quieter. Ugh.
I glanced a quick look at her again.
She smiled.
I smiled back and reached for my bag of goodies, and something in my heart told me to "be still."
I have a healthy fear of the Lord, not because I am super holy, because I have disobeyed Him one too many times. I know it always works out better in the end if I will just LISTEN and OBEY. [remind me of this often, ok?]
I put my bag back down on the floor.
The conversation started.
We talked, and talked, and talked some more.
Without divulging too much of our conversation, I will just say that by the end of our conversation, I was sitting beside her, holding her hand and praying over her. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of how much Jesus loved this lady. How much Jesus had done to prepare the tiniest of details for the two of us to be in the same room together at that very time. And, for her to be unlucky enough to sit across from a crazy praying-out-loud-in-public kinda woman.
I had asked the Lord that morning to lead and direct my steps. I was hoping for a peaceful, not-very-eventful-day. He did just the opposite.
He put me in an uncomfortable place. With a stranger.
I had a choice. I could ignore the Holy Spirit's nudge to put down my phone, and my thank you notes, or I could obey and let Him do the rest.
The irony of all of this is that I needed to meet her. I needed to hear what she had to say. I was the one that was a wreck inside. My faith was wavering and I was in desperate need of Jesus to show me that He saw me, and that He could hear me. I was in desperate need of a faith filling.
Have you ever been mad at your husband, or a sibling, or a parent...and you decide to go and vent to someone? But, as soon as they affirm you and agree with you, you get defensive over the person you are venting about. Suddenly, you take their side and end up defending the very person you were complaining about. What in the world?
This is kind of what happened here. As soon as I was met with someone who needed some serious Jesus filling, I was suddenly jumping at the opportunity to share my Savior with her.
Just days before, I had been in a serious faith funk. Doubting Thomas had NOTHING on me.
So many times I look for Him to write me a message in the sky. Or, to send me a scripture that just appears in front of me... just anything! I need to know He sees me and that He hears me. I am suddenly reminded of the Pharisees who demanded a sign from Jesus. Like, being the Son of God just wasn't enough. [I am like the Pharisees at times.]
Yet, so often He reveals Himself in the smallest, tiniest of details. The details hat I could easily overlook if I don't choose to have my spiritual eyes on.
And, it is always through His people. Always.
The man-child at Publix.
The lady at the Dump.
The lady at the homeless shelter.
The lady in the waiting room of an auto repair shop.
I just noticed something here. Notice the common thread of these stories. A special needs man-child, a place called The Dump, a Homeless Shelter, and a dusty auto repair shop.
Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:27
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:36-40
Can I just say for the record that I had no idea how this post would go. I just felt a huge nudge so sit and tell the story of the lady I met while getting my oil changed. Friends, with the Lord, we just have to take the first step of obedience. He will provide the next step for us. Every single time.
Our obedience expresses our complete trust in HIM. This is what He wants from us. Not dependent on Him "proving Himself to us" before we decide to believe Him and trust Him.
Look for Him to reveal Himself to you in the small things. In the lowly things, places, and people.
We will never find Him rubbing elbows with the elite. He is found sitting on the floor with His children, and washing their feet.
He told Peter, "Feed my sheep"
We are His sheep.
We need feeding.
All of us.
Look around you today. Ask God where you can help feed His sheep today. In turn, you will be fed.
Greater than you could ever imagine.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9
looking for sheep,
jill
