Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I took a chance, and saw a miracle

Do you ever have one of those God moments, where you know that you know that you know, that you are supposed to do something, but it may be a little embarrassing or a lot bit awkward?

I've had a lot of those moments.  For some reason, God likes to pick on me, and routinely chooses me to take part in those uncomfortable times. 

Like the time when I felt like I was supposed to empty out my wallet for a lady shopping in a store. She was dressed nicely and I was sure I was going to offend her.  Turns out, she was trying to buy stuff for her child and didn't have enough money to buy the things she needed. 

Or the time when a girl was telling me some deep stuff, the kind of stuff that needed deep healing, and I felt like I was supposed to hold her and sing over her?  Awkward.  I did it anyways, and she just cried.  Later, my husband was informed by her mom that this girl felt healing during that time and profusely thanked me for doing that.

The list goes on....I don't do these things because I suspect something, because my suspicions could be way off and I don't like to judge.  And I don't do them because they make me feel good.  I do these things because I feel led to. 

Unfortunately, I don't always follow through because of fear.  I would guess more often than not, I ignore

Well, two days ago started one of those awkward, embarrassing God moments for me.

I had seen a post on Facebook from someone that I know but I don't keep in touch with that often.  I saw he was in a relationship and of course, had to go see who this girl is.  I wasn't even a few pictures in, looking at  him and his gorgeous girlfriend, when I knew I needed to contact this girl about something very personal.

I was supposed to contact her, and just support her in this issue that God had spoken to me about.

I
was
supposed
to
contact
her.

Go out on a limb and talk to her about an issue that I didn't even know if she was dealing with.

Me, a stranger.

Her, a stranger.

This, a personal issue.

Someone who I hadn't even seen 5 minutes earlier in pictures.

GULP.

Are you kidding me, GOD???  I've got a reputation to protect here!

Some of you may be thinking right now, "I bet she was supposed to point out sin" or "I wonder if she was going to witness to her".  No, it was nothing like that.  Nothing to condemn, only to reach out and love her and let her know that I was there. 

Yeah, me, the one she doesn't even know, is here to support her.

The least qualified one.

The one behind the computer screen.

This picture-looking-Facebook-stalking happened Sunday, and on Monday I thought about her several times during the day.  I wondered how I could pull it off so she didn't think I was a creeper.  As time went on, I convinced myself more and more that I just needed to leave her alone.  I didn't know who she is.  Who am I to message her about something SO deep?  I was proabably way off anyways.  I stomped out the fire in my mind and decided that was that.  No more thoughts about contacting her.

Monday night, at about 7pm or 8pm, my husband and I took a trip to a store, and intended to be very quick.  We had a tired baby, and the weather wasn't the best, but we figured it would be a good time to go because very few people would be shopping because of the bad weather.

Let this be said: any time either my husband or I go out, it is NEVER quick.  We know way too many people, and love to talk to them all.  This is why we used to drive an hour away from home to do our grocery shopping or shop in the middle of the night because a 10 minute trip to the store equals a 30 minute trip for us.

Our trip to this store proved no different on Monday night.  We saw a couple from our old church. Then we go sidetracked with a funny family from our new church. We then ran into an old friend of mine who has been going through some difficult situations.  We easily spent an extra 40 minutes in the store talking with people - which we LOVE!

Just as we were finishing our conversations, I saw HER.  The girl that I was supposed to contact.  She was with another friend of mine. 

Convenient.

If we would have left even a few minutes earlier, or skipped one previous conversation, I would've never seen this girl.

So there I was, this girl I had NEVER heard of 24 hours earlier, was right there, in front of me, in the SAME town, with a mutual friend there to coordinate some interaction.

I saw just a few minutes of this girl, as I was mostly talking with our mutual friend. But I knew God was definite in His decision to use me in this situation.

As we left the store, I could hardly wait to get home.  But yet at the same time, I was dreading it, because now I knew for sure that God had not forgotten about this girl and He hadn't forgotten about my invovlement with her.

I sat at my computer after India went to bed and typed and thought and deleted and re-typed.  Finally, I pressed the send button, and my words to this girl, left the safety of my delete button, and were now entering her Inbox.

And just like that, I was either about to make a fool of God and myself, and this girl was going to think I was psychotic or this was going to fit perfectly in her life as a source of encouragement.

I went to bed, wondering if some girl, who I didn't even know, was reading a message from me about perhaps one of the most personal areas in her life.  I wondered what she was feeling. 

When I woke up this morning and checked my messages, you cannot imagine the joy I felt when I saw my inbox contained a lengthy message from her, detailing some issues in her life right now, including the issue that I felt I was supposed to talk with her about.  YAY!! I'm not so crazy! :-)

She spoke of how this is quite possibly the craziest thing that has ever happened to her, but she feels like God is reaching out to her, through me, as she sits in some dark depths of despair.

To me, that is a miracle.

I am not bragging about me.  Trust me.  I wanted nothing to do with this at first.  Remember, I didn't contact her for about 24 hours, out of fear?  I was scared and afraid that I had it all wrong.  Or that she would reject me.  Or that I would get labeled a psycho or creeper or intruder. 

Really, this is ALL about God and this beautiful girl.  I just happen to be caught in the midst of it.  And I'm SO GLAD that I am. 

I don't wish to be anywhere else than next to someone, even a stranger, as they walk through dark, messy, heart-wrenching issues.  Because I know what it's like to be there.

Today, God has used the normal me, in a unique way.  Or maybe it's the other way around.  Maybe this is the "normal" way, and it's not so unique after all. 

Maybe we should be taking chances, and seeing miracles. 

Maybe that's the norm. 

How does God want to use you in a normal way today?  Do you ever have "those moments"?

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9 Comments:

At November 23, 2010 at 9:20 PM , Blogger Lindsay Gietzen said...

This reminds me of Beth Moore's "Hairbrush" story. Have you seen it? It's on YouTube. An amazing story.

 
At November 23, 2010 at 9:31 PM , Blogger Uniquely Normal Mom said...

I haven't seen that one yet, Lindsay. Knowing Beth Moore and her stories, I'm sure it will be entertaining and insightful!

 
At November 23, 2010 at 9:34 PM , Blogger the mom~ said...

I had a crappy day...I'll have to think if He used me...or if I used me the way He wanted to...not sure.
I'm glad she responded well, that makes it feel so much better knowing God really was behind it all, and better yet YOU LISTENED.

 
At November 24, 2010 at 12:19 AM , Blogger Vanessa said...

Amazing story. I'm constantly amazed at how God moves us in different ways and how we need to listen to Him despite our fears. I'll be anxiously awaiting God to use me more!

 
At November 27, 2010 at 5:11 PM , Blogger Uniquely Normal Mom said...

Sorry about your day, Salena! :( I know God uses you all the time to bless people - you are always so thoughtful!

Thanks, Vanessa! I love how He can use us in the little things too. We just need to have eyes to see.

Thank you so much Kelly! I'm glad you and your hubby liked it. My relationship with this girl is definitely continuing!

 
At May 6, 2011 at 3:24 PM , Blogger Falon said...

Love this. Thank you for walking us through the fear...so that I could identify past weaknesses in my life and can now overcome by your testimony...God is so rich, so filling, so good...and he uses each of us to get closer to Him. I love Him, and I love you! :) <3

 
At May 31, 2011 at 11:00 PM , Blogger Uniquely Normal Mom said...

Awww, thanks, Falon! :)

 
At May 31, 2011 at 11:00 PM , Blogger Uniquely Normal Mom said...

Awww, thanks, Falon! :)

 
At August 9, 2011 at 12:11 PM , Anonymous Kelly said...

Wow, I read this twice once to myself and then to my husband and both times I had goose bumps! Very awsome! God uses us all in different ways! I'm thankful I found God at a young age! You are a great woman!

 

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