Patience and perseverance, those character building, God-trusting
characteristics are becoming increasingly difficult to pursue as the gap on
instant feedback and reward closes by the minute. Even lumpy body lines, which
used to require weeks of dieting before melting an inch, now disappear
after a three-minute wiggle into that tummy- trimming, butt-slimming wonder
called Spanx. (Just where does the fat
go, I wonder, if it doesn’t ooze out the edges?)
Nevertheless, bulge-reducing Spanx, high speed modems, and
other wonders of the immediate, haven’t made any impact on the culture of eternity,
and God refuses to be fazed by the pressure to deliver on-the-spot.
While I was at Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference this
past week, I was delighted to learn the rest of the story of two encounters I
had had at the conference two years earlier.
One day at the previous conference, feeling full of the joy
of the Lord, I skipped a workshop and wandered off in search of the prayer
grotto in the woods. I asked the Lord if He wanted to speak to someone through me,
to have them meet me in the grotto—an unlikely proposition since everyone was probably
in workshops.
But He did. One lone woman came up the path. She seemed
upset; we talked and prayed, and then I left. I didn’t know her name, and often
wondered about the divine appointment.
After returning home from this year’s conference, I received
a message on Facebook from beautiful Beth who said, “I know you may not
remember this. . .we met in the prayer garden. . .I was upset and you were kind…”
What a surprise, what an honor. Two years later to learn her
name and hear the rest of the story.
At that same previous conference, I won some awards, one of
which was a publishing package for my manuscript. Although it was the first
thing I had ever written, and I had no prospects of publishing it, I turned the
award down. The prize went to the next winner.
This year, a group of us from an online accountability group,(some
who had never met in person),
met for breakfast. I told my friend Lori that I had never met Mary Beth.
“Yes, you have,” she said. “You had your picture taken with
her. She was one of the winners in that contest two years ago."
Mary Beth arrived, set her tray next to mine and sat down.
We looked at each other in amazement as Lori explained the connection we
actually had. Turns out Mary Beth (who didn’t know me either!) was thrilled to
have her book published because the first-place winner had turned over the
prize.
There we were, sitting side by side, having prayed for each
other and supported each other for the whole year online and never realizing
the effect one person's action had had on the other.
Sometimes we never do get to know the effect a word or seemingly small
action has on another life, as Jeremiah says, “the secret things belong to God”.
Sometimes we have to leave our lack of
an answer in the hands of God.
But sometimes, He surprises us—even if it takes two years in coming.
Do all unto the Lord, friend, and trust Him to reveal and reward in His time.
The culture of eternity - what a beautiful line - I'm going to steal that. :)
ReplyDeleteI love divine appointments! :) Thank you for your obedience and for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how God can change lives through us if we only choose to listen to His nudge and then follow through! Marcia, this was a beautiful, inspirational story. Thank you for choosing to share it with us.
ReplyDelete