I had such a good time with God this morning. During my quiet time with Him, I thanked Him for His faithfulness. At one point, I even became overwhelmed with tears. I love Him so much. And I am in awe of Him every single day.
You see, for the past several months, He has prompted me to do something I did not want to do. (Has that ever happened to you??) I am embarrassed to tell you that I "argued" with Him many times about it. I doubted what He was telling me to do. I was fearful. But all along I knew it was the voice of God, prompting me. How could I question it? Looking back, I can't understand why I would respond to Him that way. I mean, this is not the first time He's asked me to do something that made me more than a little uncomfortable. And every time I've obeyed, He's blessed me. So what was different this time?
My son goes to Mothers Day Out at a local church. He has two teachers, Miss Amy and Miss Sharon. Miss Amy is usually friendly, but Miss Sharon has never had much to say to me. At times, it's really bothered me. At the beginning of the school year, I felt God prompting me to ask her how I might pray for her. I am passionate about prayer and asking others how I can pray for them is usually something I like to do very much. Not this time. My feelings had been hurt because this teacher was not especially friendly to me. I could not imagine approaching her with such a question. I mean, we barely say "Good Morning", so it would seem incredibly awkward to offer to pray for her.
Well, for nearly 5 months I tried as best I could to ignore God. Half the time I told myself that it wasn't God really speaking to me, it was only my silly thoughts. The other half of the time I felt pretty sure it was God and I seriously hoped He would just drop it! But He never did. Every time I dropped my son off at his classroom, I felt God make an unmistakable impression on my heart to ask her that question.
This past week, when I dropped my son off at school, I noticed Miss Sharon was not there. I heard someone say she was out sick. As I began to leave the classroom, I noticed a calendar in my son's mailbox. I picked it up and noticed his teachers' names and phone numbers on the bottom of the sheet. The impression on my heart was now more of a deep burning. I knew I could not avoid this issue any longer. When I got home, I took the sheet of paper inside, sat down at my kitchen table and prayed. I told God I knew what He was asking me to do and I admitted to Him how nervous I was because I didn't think she even liked me. I told Him I was afraid she would give me the cold shoulder or think I was weird or something like that. God reminded me that He is faithful. He reminded me of all the times when He has asked me to do something out of the ordinary so that He could reveal Himself in an extraordinary way.
Still nervous, I dialed the phone, praying the entire time the phone rang. I got her answering machine and just left a brief message for her to call me. And then I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief! But the next day, she called me back. You could tell by the tone of her voice that she was quite puzzled as to why I had called. She almost sounded irritated. I asked her how she was feeling and she explained that she had bronchitis and was not feeling well at all. She abruptly interrupted our polite little exchange and asked "You called?"
I said, "Yes, Sharon. This is going to sound strange, but for the past several months, God has put you on my heart." There was silence on her end, so I continued. "God has been prompting me to ask you how I may pray for you." I was right, it was awkward! You could tell I really caught her off-guard. After a few seconds, she composed herself and said "Well, yes, Amy, there are a lot of things going on in my life that I need prayer for...obviously, my health, for one. But I don't feel comfortable talking about the other things." I reassured her that I understood because we hardly knew each other. I admitted to her that I felt uncomfortable asking the question to begin with, but I wanted to be obedient to God. I told her that not only would I pray about her health, but that I would also ask God to direct my prayers for her. As she thanked me, I could tell her voice was now softening. I went on to tell her that, with her permission, I would drop her a note every so often to let her know what God was specifically laying on my heart to pray for her. She thanked me again, this time, getting a little choked up. She told me she really appreciated me calling her and offering to pray for her. I hung up the phone and thanked God for leading me to her. And apologized for being so slow in doing what He asked of me.
So today I am, once again, in awe of God. I thanked Him for giving me the privilege of even hearing from Him in the first place. I thanked Him for allowing me to be used by Him in the life of someone else. And I prayed that Miss Sharon was as encouraged by our conversation as I was. I prayed that she woke up this morning with an even deeper love for God as she realizes how much He loves her....the trouble that He would go to for her...prompting someone for months to reach out to her! I have no doubt that exciting things will be happening because of this. I know that both she and I will be blessed!
If you've known me for very long, you know how much time I have spent dreaming of "doing something big for God". There is no telling how much time I have spent thinking about what it would be like to write an important book or to travel around the country and share my faith with other women. As a matter of fact, I haven't just thought about it, I have at times felt God was surely leading me to do that one day. And I have spent many restless days wondering when it would happen. But for the first time I am realizing I don't have to have that. I don't need it anymore. It may happen and it may not. Only God knows for sure! What I know for sure is that I have never experienced a greater thrill than feeling God clearly speak to me, doing what He says, and then watching Him work. It seriously leaves me speechless when I think of the King of Kings using ME to reach someone for Him. How could it possibly get any better than that?
You are already doing "big things" for God, because everything that you share motivates, inspires, and encourages me to be what God has called me to be. :) This story definately reminds me not only listen to God's promptings, but to obey them! Thanks Amy!
Posted by: Gina | January 21, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Amy,
This entry brought tears to my eyes. Let me just say woman, that God is using you in ways you don't even realize right now.
And let me also say that sometimes we forget that in the Kingdom of God everything appears upside down and backwards. The first is last, the last is first, the master is servant, the servant master. We see as in a mirror dimly. It looks backwards here, but in the Kingdom of Heaven what you did was *huge*, *big* and a big deal! *Not* a small thing.
You were sensitive to God, you heard Him, you believed Him and you obeyed Him. What else does He ask??
I am humbled and inspired by what you did. Thank you for sharing it. :)
M~
Posted by: Melissa~ | January 27, 2008 at 07:47 AM