Prompted by God

Sometimes the connections God makes in our lives, even though they may seem small, amaze me.

A friend I had known since childhood was in the hospital with several concerning problems including the contagious C. diff bacteria. I stayed up most of that Saturday night, praying and thinking about him and our times together.

The next day, I took my wife to church to teach the early Sunday school, and I drove on to get some breakfast. After going through the line and picking up my food, I had a nudging from the Holy Spirit. Go around the old neighborhood where you grew up.

I followed the Spirit’s leading and began circling the block, while reliving what happened with me and my friend at various spots along the way.

As I turned the corner to drive by his house, I saw his 92-year-old mother trying to scrap the thick ice and snow off of her windshield. I stopped and called her name. She didn’t recognize me until I was pretty close to her and she began to cry, gave me a big hug and said I made her day.  

She was going to the hospital to relieve her daughter in law, who had been there all night, and spend the afternoon with her son. We had a wonderful short conversation while I cleaned off her car for her, and she headed off.

This prompting was only part of the connection for the day. That night I would be teaching a bible study on the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. Here’s a perfect example of how listening closely can lead us to a place we normally wouldn’t go and one where God can use us. Not only that, when I got to church and heard the sermon, it cemented what had just happened with my friend’s mother. The topic was Job.  The passage covered his friends coming to console him and the Pastor spoke about how his friends didn’t speak for 7 days, they sat there quietly with their friend.

The Pastor ended his sermon with a situation many of us find ourselves in. There is someone we know in the hospital or there is a funeral we need to attend.  A resistance builds inside and we don’t want to go because we don’t know what to say. The Pastor’s answer was simple but poignant, “Just be there.” Presence over words.

The Holy Spirit had me “Just be there” for my friend’s mother. Amazing God! How is he leading you today?