Divine Appointments

Last Saturday I met Marshall for lunch at Quiznos. As we were standing in line, a lady asked us where the line started. We stood there for a minute or so and I asked her if she was going to do anything fun for the day. She shared that she just brought her mom home from the hospital. She was running on very little sleep because the hospice nurse wasn't scheduled to arrive until that morning. Her mom had screamed in pain the entire night. Within the last 5 years she lost her husband, sister, and now her mom is dying. The last 10 years of her life have been consumed with care giving. On top of everything, she took an unpaid leave of absence from her job to take care of her mom. Needless to say, she was EXHAUSTED!!! We both promised her that we would pray. She asked me if I was from Spartanburg and I told her that I moved here from California. (She said she didn't think people from California went to church LOL) She knew God had a plan but wasn't sure what it was. As we were talking, I shared with her how my grandma was on hospice last year. In her last days, she lead worship on her keyboard for the family for a 2 hour period and then permanently slipped into a semi-conscious state...Marshall shared that he has been taking care of his dad. As she left, she stepped back in to tell us to look her up if we were ever at Clemson University.

As we sat there eating our lunch, it was so apparent that God made this appointment. We had originally planned to go to Panera and I was late...If we had been in line 10 minutes sooner or at a different restaurant, we would have completely missed her. Sometimes things don't go quite how we planned. So many of us have been placed in situations that alter our original plan... lost car keys, been stuck in traffic, the doctor is running a hour behind, unending demands to complete tasks without enough time or energy to get them all done ...The list could go on foever. It is easy to get frustrated, but do we take the time to look for God's divine appointments??? I know that I am often so wrapped up in myself that I miss opportunities for God to use me. I am convinced that God wants our lives to be filled with His divine apppointments!

"O My children, there is the sound of the turtledove echoing throughout the land. It is the voice of the Bridegroom calling His Bride. It is the wooing of the Spirit bringing forth a people for His Name. It is the Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ Himself, drawing people together who are His. It is the call of love, and those who truly love Him will respond. Like attracts like; and love has always been the test of true discipleship. Those whose hearts are fixed on things above will not be held by worldly entanglements (even thought they may be within the organized church). Those who are listening to the voice of their Beloved will not be deafened by the cries of men. In a world filled with noises, each demanding attention, they will hear Him." Frances J. Roberts

So many things in this world are trying to grab our attention. Our worlds can get so noisy that we miss the Bridegroom calling us...At the beginning of most romances we rush to the phone every time that person calls. We hang on every word they say. The time spent together is never enough. Jesus tries to woo us...His Bride...to Himself. He wants us to rush to answer Him in the midst of all the noises in our lives that are demanding our attention. He longs for us to hang on His Word...to desire to spend time with Him more than ANYONE else. As time goes on in any romance, it is easy to become selfish or distracted by other things that demand our attention. The test of true love is whether or not we slow down to hear each others words and make it a priority to spend time together. Are we ready for God to fill up our days with Divine Appointments?... Short conversations with people in line, the waitress who is overworked, the boy bagging the groceries, sick patients at the doctors office...

"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. " 1 John 3:16