It Can Be Pretty Simple
Last week two new friends and I shared a girls’ supper at a local fresh Mexican place with a beautiful view of some mountain caps in our city. Under the stars, we felt cozy around the table on that first evening that felt like fall. In Alabama, that means the temps drop below seventy degrees! We laughed and shared a tear or two, making new commitments to follow after God with one another. Much chatting and many chips later, it was time to head home.
As we walked to our cars, I noticed a couple of young Asian guys near us who seemed to be headed to their car as well. Apparently, we clicked our unlock button at the exact same time, as I noticed our two dark colored small SUVs were parked just a couple of spaces from each other. All the tail lights began to blink. No big deal, right? I said good-bye to my friends, and as I turned and walked towards my car, I noticed that one of the guys was sitting in the passenger seat of my car! I glanced over and saw that the other guy was in the driver seat of his car. I wasn’t alarmed at all, realizing that he must have gotten in the wrong car, seeing the blinking lights, hearing the beeps, and confusing the cars that were almost identical. Without missing a beat I yelled at him, “You’re in my car!” I didn’t want to approach him as I thought I might startle him. At that moment, he jumped out and started profusely apologizing! Bless his embarrassed heart. He had a thick accent with broken English, and I could tell he was mortified at what he had done! Right about that time, his friend also realized what had happened, and he too was trying to explain as best he could. Then one of them pointed to the beautiful full moon commenting on it, apparently trying to change the awkward subject. I again reassured them and we chuckled together.
As I drove home under the brightly lit sky, I laughed about my two new friends from Taiwan who had only been in the states a month. I mean, can you imagine being in a foreign country and getting caught in the wrong car?! I have been a foreigner in Asia a few times visiting my son who is a missionary there. Honestly, I could understand exactly how they felt in a strange culture! God had prepared me for this very moment!
Oftentimes, when crazy things like this happen, I ask God if He is trying to tell me something. I pay great attention to stories all around me in hopes to see God in new ways. I have reflected back a number of times on this funny story and now I believe God has revealed a message He had for me.
As I long to live within His purposes for my life, I can get so sidetracked, thinking that I have to pursue certain essential projects with well-formulated plans in order to bear fruit. Voices repeat themselves in my head. “Find the thing and do it well!” “You were meant for more! Just figure it out, Anna!” The last two years have turned pursuits, passions and ideas upside down in the lives of many, including me! What I once knew as predictable and steady has become unsure and wavering. Might it be true that God’s purposes for you and me are day to day, sometimes hour by hour purposes? Might small opportunities be hugely important to God? Could a small act of kindness be more significant than a mission that reaches thousands? Ponder your life for just a minute. Maybe purpose could be found by simply taking a loaf of bread to a neighbor, or by helping someone struggling with a disability return a grocery cart, or by writing a handwritten note to a discouraged friend. Something seemingly insignificant just might be your most important assignment in fulfilling God’s purposes for you on any given day.
That night as I drove home, I felt thankful that I could reassure these two young international students that everything was okay in the confusion. Maybe the look in my eye let them see His image coming through. Maybe we should remind ourselves of those kinds of opportunities of purpose by putting on our WWJD bracelets! You see, Jesus lived fully into God’s purposes for Him on earth hour by hour, village by village, soul by soul.
Plans and strategy are good things, in my opinion However, some of my most significant moments while living out God’s purposes for me, by His grace, happen spontaneously. You know those moments that are impromptu, when you are able to share, give, bless, encourage, pray for or reassure another human being. When it happens, you just know. The feeling of refreshment that comes just might be from God Himself as you can almost hear Him whisper, “This is what you were made for!”
The next time you hit your clicker at the same time as someone else parked near you, make sure you don’t get in their car! But whenever that crazy, unexpected thing happens, consider it through the lens of God’s calling on your life. Maybe the person right in front of you needs kindness more than you know.
Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
“God, help me remember that Your purposes for me are simple. Help me to not overthink it. Put someone in my path today who needs a touch of You and give me eyes to see it when it happens!” Amen.
