Mistakes and Miracles

There's nothing like knocking on the door to someone's house or apartment and having someone completely different answer, informing you that the person you're looking for has moved since you were there last. This sets the stage for a potentially awkward situation in which (for those like me) people can be prone to stuttering and stumbling over apologies and scatterbrained, poorly thought out expanations for your untimely interruption of their afternoon activities.

However, God didn't send us to that neighborhood in search of this woman needlessly. He didn't have her move and allow this other woman to replace her in the apartment without reason. And I have to admit that despite the "oops" factor of our visit, Jacob and I would have been worse off not having knocked upon her door.

It never ceases to amaze me how willing people are to talk to you. In the rushing flow of life, with its dangerous curves in the road and undodgeable curveballs, people thirst for the company of someone, sometimes anyone, who will just lend a listening ear. Many times we don't care if that someone turns out being a complete stranger.

After getting the whereabouts of the since-moved family, the now-owner of the apartment goes on to tell us about her sons, the stroke she'd had while pregnant with her youngest, and the more recent open heart surgery. Not only had she died four times while in surgery, she told us she had seen wicked, evil, and she had seen good. She told us about what she had seen and how she knows that there's a God out there. "Hell's real," she said, "Sad as it is, hell's real." Hell's real, heaven's real, Jesus is real, she stood there before us verbally confirming her belief in the existance of all. She saw the occurrences of her life as a wake-up call. She knew God was trying to get her attention, and said she needed to listen. We had the opportunity to pray with her and give her some information about our church and programs provided for her kids, and she talked with us in agreement about the light of hope that Jesus Christ offers. "God must have some purpose for me yet," she said. "He's been there all the way. More than people will ever know." She says she knows she wouldn't still be here if it weren't for His divine intervention.

I was blown away by her story, captivated by the conviction in her voice. The immensity of God's hand became all the more evident to me. The Lord is working in the lives of people in ways we may never see, imagine, or comprehend. Let us not forget the magnitude of His power and glory and the incomparable displays of His control over all things. May this woman's story be an encouragment that we are not alone. God is moving, and we are encompassed in His love.