Oh man, I've got a great story for you today!
Today's been really tough for me. I slept in late…played my guitar…rewrote some correspondence….made some groovy charts for work…ate some french fries and grapes. In fact, I'd say today was super relaxing and just enjoyable so far.
I'm excited because some friends are coming over tonight for worship. It's a great time to just play the guitar, sing and worship as a little family….I love it.
I decided to go to the store to get some groceries real quickly and I heard God's voice talking to me at Publix. It wasn't booming from the heavens….but….funny thing – it sounded kind of like my mom!
Basically, I was getting a grocery cart out and, of course, I chose the one that had separation anxiety and would NOT let go of the other carts. Instead of grabbing a new one…I kept wrestling with this one. I was committed at this point. As I'm casually yanking the cart, I looked toward the parking lot and saw this really cute guy heading my way. SO CUTE.
He was about 85 years old with crisp white hair that complimented his brown skin perfectly. He was hip…he had on a plaid suit thing and a cool hat. Let me tell you, I appreciate a cool hat. Some may say he had a limp…I'm going to say he walked with a little spunk. I like spunk.
About this time, I heard this voice in my head say, "Do you see him, Stacie?". This is the part that reminded me of my mom…she has always has a knack for setting me up for a good joke. My eyebrows shot up a little and I thought, "um…yes….he's not invisible.". At this point, knowing my mom would have laughed at my lame witty humor, I smirked. The odd thing was, I was feeling really compelled to give him a cart.
At the same time my cool friend breezed through the jedi like doors, my cart finally got some freedom. I made eye contact with the crooner and said, "Hey! Would you like a cart?" *Charming smile*
Then the weirdest happened…my new friend just STOPPED and looked at me.
Like…it wasn't a movie moment where people broke into song and started dancing. It was just awkward, really.
So, after the twenty two seconds hung in the air…Charley (my new name for him) says, "Do you believe in God?"
I said, "Heck yes I do".
I grimaced a little inside wishing I would have had a more "holy" response about the King of the creation. Something like, "Sir, I believe that God is the Alpha and Omega and I am blessed just to take this here breath."
But nope…I said, "Heck yes I do."
Charley then says to me (brace yourself…this is crazy cool), "I do too. I've been really sad lately. Really alone. And this morning I was really a little angry with God. I demanded to know why He insisted in making me feel like I was invisible."
Woah.
Charley and I parted ways after a few more minutes and a hug.
Surprisingly, he didn't ask for my digits.
Here's the deal….sometimes Jesus is a little demanding. It's kind of like Kathy Garmin (the GPS in my car). Kathy is very patient with me…but her job is to give me some direction and guidance. To help m
e navigate through the chaos when I've missed a turn or just done my own thing. Sometimes I put Kathy on mute because she's just a little demanding with her expectations that I listen to her.
Unlike Kathy Garmin, Jesus seems to actually know what He's doing.
I just don't ever want to be in a position where I put Jesus on mute…or even worse – get so used to hearing His voice that it no longer propels me toward where He's calling me.
Jesus, keep nagging on me…I'm listening.
