Sometimes, things just work out,
you know? They just work out. I see God’s hand in these moments where
things just amazingly work out. And I think
as Christians, we are called to point them out so that God can be praised and
we can be encouraged. That’s really what
this blog is all about.
In the past month or so, I have
seen over and over things just working out.
A few Sundays ago, it was my husband’s birthday. I planned to be at all three worship services
to invite parishioners to our summer Faith Dinners but with celebrating my
husband’s birthday, I thought maybe someone else could go to the evening
service in my place. I reached out to a
few people but they couldn’t make it.
Then, I decided not to force it and that maybe I was supposed to be
there. We scheduled my husband’s
birthday celebration for lunch at a new restaurant in the area and I attended
evening worship.
This particular week was the
first week we changed our service time from 5:30 pm to 5:00 pm for the
summer. We had a newcomer arrive at 5:30
pm for the service and I invited her to sit by me for the remainder of the
service. When we spoke after worship,
she shared with me that she had a feeling that she was supposed to come to this
church for four months and that she had been diligent in watching our website
and even knew who I was. She was moved
by our core belief “value all people.”
This gentle soul took four months
to walk through our doors by herself and when she did, she was 30 minutes
late. I believe there was some comfort
in my presence since she knew from her research that I was the welcome leader
at St. Mary’s. And what a joy to meet
her. What I have learned over the years
is that sometimes we need to be at church for someone else, not ourselves. Right place, right time.
Another recent Sunday, I listened
to a newcomer as she told me how she and her husband found St. Mary’s. She attended our Fall Gift Market last year
and when she entered the church and lit a candle, something moved her. This past fall was the first year we opened
our church during the market and posted signs welcoming people into the
sanctuary to pray, meditate or light a candle.
It took many months for her to step across our threshold but she
did. I am so glad I was there to hear
their sacred story. Right place, right
time.
This past week, we had a couple
of newcomers arrive for worship and I helped them find a seat in the pew. I asked a gentleman to move down a bit and
make room for them and their small baby. I
noticed them all chatting after service and it warmed my heart. As God would have it, he was sharing with
them that his daughter was getting married to her partner in September which
was a wonderful welcome to these two ladies who were looking for a new church
home. I did not know this background
when I sat them together but God did. Right
place, right time.
We often hear that anything worth
doing is not going to be easy, otherwise everyone would do it. I don’t believe that anymore. I find that while God takes me out of my
comfort zone, that isn’t the same as my forcing things to happen or crushing
all obstacles to achieve. Sometimes,
obstacles are put in our path to direct us down a different path. Sometimes, the path of least resistance does
set us free.
Where is God directing you to be?
Is there something you are trying to
force that you can let go of so God can work it out?