God is good

I met a woman yesterday who knows what God put her on this earth to do and so she does it with obedience and abandon.

She talks to people, sees truth, sees lies, gets right to the heart of the matter and listens for what God would have her say to those she comes in contact with. She prays for and blesses people. It's as natural for her to go out of her way to bless people as it is natural for me to keep to myself and not bless people. That's just what she does. She's made blessing people like a habit she can't kick. And why would she? Being an extension of God's grace and goodness has become her identity. The work of Jesus Christ has everything to do with this identity of hers.

I introduced myself to her and just briefly shook her hand, but she looked into my soul while we did that. Sounds dramatic, right? But try and believe me, I know when someone's looking into my soul because my soul squirms when it happens. I don't much like feeling so stared at and so vulnerable. When I met her and she looked at me, my soul did an excited squirm. My soul knew that she meant well and that she was good.

I made a point to go and speak with her after she'd made her rounds and blessed a bunch of people. As people walked away from her they seemed lighter, freer and more joyful. I was so intrigued. I really wanted to talk with her.

I said hello and shook her hand again, not really knowing what I was going to say to her, so I just said thank you and that I wanted to say goodbye or something. I don't know what I was expecting.

She asked me about my journey with God, which is a really good way to get someone to talk about absolutely everything going on in their life. I began telling her that I wasn't really sure about where God was taking me, but that I have never been so open to His leading before. I told her that I've recently reached a new low of humility and it has made me much more willing to obey.

She prayed for me. She asked that God would direct me and keep worthless distractions away. She prayed that I would know God's Fatherly love for me. She prayed that I would obey. Everything she prayed confirmed my suspicion that she had indeed been looking into my soul earlier that day.

Not only did she bless my soul, but she also blessed me with a handful of cash; twenty dollar bills all rolled up.

I refused to take it at first and said I just couldn't do that. She insisted that I not rob her of her blessing in giving that gift, so I couldn't refuse. I felt so humbled and glad and shocked all at the same time. I wanted to simultaneously hug her and say "I just don't understand." So I did. It was beautiful and awkward.

Her actions have made me think a lot about obedience to God and identity in Christ. If there were more obedient Christians out there who were sure of their position in Christ then there would be a lot more people giving each other hugs.

If there were more people acting out confidently in God's love then more people would be shaking their heads at this amazing love saying "I just don't understand."

God's love for us doesn't make sense, but it is good. It is really really good.

...ramble on...