Providence
God works providentially in my life.
By that I mean it's a co-mingling of circumstances, timing, and divine appointments that lend themselves to me, and sometimes others, seeing the I AM at work in my life. I'm in awe and often left speechless by the things that happen.
It can be hard to believe sometimes. Sometimes I don't even believe it. Of late, I'm praying that God will do something to help those close to me see that where I think I'm headed is the direction He wants me going in. Although I don't understand it myself sometimes because I can't even begin to apply human understanding to it, I think it would be helpful to me to have the people I count on the most for advice and wisdom to be on the same page.
At dinner last night, we were talking about Shetland ponies. My uncle Bob (former uncle, my aunt is my mother's sister) had horses when I was a boy and he told me to stay off the Shetland pony. My cousins talked me into riding it. It didn't want to be ridden and when I jumped off his back as he was headed to the barbed wire fence, to avoid the fence itself, I landed on my tailbone.
It's an trivial little story from my childhood. Trivial. Meaningless. Until the Facebook meme showed up on my news feed last night. Then it became, well, just another little thing that happens to me all the time. In itself it doesn't mean anything. I really mean that. It just showed up.
But I thought it was funny because stuff happens like that all the time. Sometimes I think God is just showing me He's still here and yep, it's still the plan.
Some things changed over the past couple of days, and at least for the blog, my Who has a name. It's Cindy. She goes by CindyLou, although it's not her given name. Now you get the "who" reference...Cindylou Who, who was no mare than two. That makes her my "Who". Anyway, she's still part of my life, and it seems to me that it's how the good Lord wants things. I'm on board,although the circumstances aren't what I'd call ideal for us to be anything more than what we are, which is a little more than friends and not quite in a relationship. Complicated would be a very bad choice of words to describe the situation. Complicated is too small a word.
I woke up this morning early to do run someone to the Greyhound Station. I left here early, but as I was preparing to walk out the door, I heard a radio program that talked about sharing the Gospel with others. I kind of had a feeling I needed to tell the young man I was giving the ride to about Jesus but was unsure how to start the conversation. I asked God to help me find a way. We stopped for gas, and as we got back on the freeway, I looked at a billboard in Ogden just south of 12th Street that asked
Who is Jesus?"
We started there and I explained Jesus and why the young man needed Him in his own life. He asked me a question about creation and woman, which I expounded on to explain how sin entered the world, why a Holy and Just God requires a blood atonement for sin, and why Jesus went to the cross for OUR sins.
The well-placed billboard was an answer to a prayer for God to provide the means to start the conversation. Providence? Yes. I'm sure the billboard had been there for more than just now and it's just something God used to get the conversation started. It meant something.
As we rode into Salt Lake from Tooele (I had an interesting couple of days!), a radio program came on and Chuck Swindoll explained the battle between the flesh and our minds. He didn't mince words and as it would happen, the words Pastor Swindoll used in his message today mirrored what I'd talked about; consequences of bad choices, and giving in to the flesh, and the like. The young man didn't say much, but the expression on his face was like "is this really happening?"
It was a summary of the talk we had on the way down from Logan. And it was in God's providence that it happened. Sometimes the Spirit gives us the words to say. This morning, He gave me the correct ones.
The young man didn't make the decision for Christ. He's got a couple of days to think about it though. Not much on the Greyhound to do but think, especially when his phone battery dies. The rest of the task belongs to the Holy Spirit. Jesus finds the lost sheep. I was just blessed to explain to him that he was lost and needed to be found. I was available and God used me to help grow the kingdom.
On the ride home, I did some checking with the Lord about he path I'm on. I pray for things to change; they will, but most likely, not today. I never rule anything out. I'm not gonna be stupid enough to try and put God in a box. He is bigger than that and wouldn't stay there anyway. In His time, not mine though, but as I was stopped at the light on Shadow Valley Drive, I saw a car with this plate:
4 Shir. (for sure?) and then looked in the rearview to see the all too familiar green tree on the front bumper of the car behind me.
And that's my story.
By that I mean it's a co-mingling of circumstances, timing, and divine appointments that lend themselves to me, and sometimes others, seeing the I AM at work in my life. I'm in awe and often left speechless by the things that happen.
It can be hard to believe sometimes. Sometimes I don't even believe it. Of late, I'm praying that God will do something to help those close to me see that where I think I'm headed is the direction He wants me going in. Although I don't understand it myself sometimes because I can't even begin to apply human understanding to it, I think it would be helpful to me to have the people I count on the most for advice and wisdom to be on the same page.
At dinner last night, we were talking about Shetland ponies. My uncle Bob (former uncle, my aunt is my mother's sister) had horses when I was a boy and he told me to stay off the Shetland pony. My cousins talked me into riding it. It didn't want to be ridden and when I jumped off his back as he was headed to the barbed wire fence, to avoid the fence itself, I landed on my tailbone.
It's an trivial little story from my childhood. Trivial. Meaningless. Until the Facebook meme showed up on my news feed last night. Then it became, well, just another little thing that happens to me all the time. In itself it doesn't mean anything. I really mean that. It just showed up.
But I thought it was funny because stuff happens like that all the time. Sometimes I think God is just showing me He's still here and yep, it's still the plan.
Some things changed over the past couple of days, and at least for the blog, my Who has a name. It's Cindy. She goes by CindyLou, although it's not her given name. Now you get the "who" reference...Cindylou Who, who was no mare than two. That makes her my "Who". Anyway, she's still part of my life, and it seems to me that it's how the good Lord wants things. I'm on board,although the circumstances aren't what I'd call ideal for us to be anything more than what we are, which is a little more than friends and not quite in a relationship. Complicated would be a very bad choice of words to describe the situation. Complicated is too small a word.
I woke up this morning early to do run someone to the Greyhound Station. I left here early, but as I was preparing to walk out the door, I heard a radio program that talked about sharing the Gospel with others. I kind of had a feeling I needed to tell the young man I was giving the ride to about Jesus but was unsure how to start the conversation. I asked God to help me find a way. We stopped for gas, and as we got back on the freeway, I looked at a billboard in Ogden just south of 12th Street that asked
Who is Jesus?"
We started there and I explained Jesus and why the young man needed Him in his own life. He asked me a question about creation and woman, which I expounded on to explain how sin entered the world, why a Holy and Just God requires a blood atonement for sin, and why Jesus went to the cross for OUR sins.
The well-placed billboard was an answer to a prayer for God to provide the means to start the conversation. Providence? Yes. I'm sure the billboard had been there for more than just now and it's just something God used to get the conversation started. It meant something.
As we rode into Salt Lake from Tooele (I had an interesting couple of days!), a radio program came on and Chuck Swindoll explained the battle between the flesh and our minds. He didn't mince words and as it would happen, the words Pastor Swindoll used in his message today mirrored what I'd talked about; consequences of bad choices, and giving in to the flesh, and the like. The young man didn't say much, but the expression on his face was like "is this really happening?"
It was a summary of the talk we had on the way down from Logan. And it was in God's providence that it happened. Sometimes the Spirit gives us the words to say. This morning, He gave me the correct ones.
The young man didn't make the decision for Christ. He's got a couple of days to think about it though. Not much on the Greyhound to do but think, especially when his phone battery dies. The rest of the task belongs to the Holy Spirit. Jesus finds the lost sheep. I was just blessed to explain to him that he was lost and needed to be found. I was available and God used me to help grow the kingdom.
On the ride home, I did some checking with the Lord about he path I'm on. I pray for things to change; they will, but most likely, not today. I never rule anything out. I'm not gonna be stupid enough to try and put God in a box. He is bigger than that and wouldn't stay there anyway. In His time, not mine though, but as I was stopped at the light on Shadow Valley Drive, I saw a car with this plate:
4 Shir. (for sure?) and then looked in the rearview to see the all too familiar green tree on the front bumper of the car behind me.
And that's my story.
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