I recently had this revelation:
If we truly want God to grow and change us,
we must obey what He says to do and go where He says to go.
In October my family and I went to visit my grandpa in Tucson a week before he passed away. It was a sad trip, knowing that my grandpa was near death and that it would likely be one of the last times I would see him.
Long story short, while there we got a phone call from a family member asking if we could pick up his girlfriend (whom we’d never met) who was traveling through Tucson and bring her up to Phoenix. Not having much time to discuss it with me, my husband agreed. It seemed like perfect sense to him, since we were going to be heading back up to Phoenix the next day anyway.
Suffice it to say, I was not a happy camper upon hearing this news, because:
· I didn’t say it was okay and was now forced to be in the car with someone that I didn’t even know.
· It meant I would be crammed in the back between two car seats for an hour and a half. (I wasn’t about to let a perfect stranger sit in the backseat with my kids.)
· She ended up bringing a cat with her that we didn’t know about until loading her luggage in the car.
· On the way home, my son spilled water all over my lap, which then attracted all of the crumbs from his Goldfish crackers.
This was a day that I was most definitely acting out in my fleshy, sin nature. I was emotional and easily annoyed, to say the least. But all things considered, I did my best to be kind to her and took most of it out on Will (so sorry, honey!).
Thankfully, the car ride turned out fine (other than my clothes being a mess) and she ended up being a really nice person.
Fast forward a few weeks and we’re making plans for Thanksgiving. We had planned to head up to the mountains to spend time with my parents and extended family. But God ended up changing our plans.
The weekend before Thanksgiving we learned that our family member’s girlfriend had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. She just moved here, couldn’t get back home out of state and doesn’t know anyone in town except us.
The thought of her sitting in her apartment on Thanksgiving didn’t sit right with me. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner knowing that she would be alone. I knew God was speaking to me in that still, small voice encouraging me to change my plans to include her.
So, we postponed our trip to the mountains and invited her over for Thanksgiving. I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. (I’m grateful to my mother-in-law for her help.) We enjoyed being together and opening our home to our new friend.
Please hear my heart: I don’t say any of this because I want any sort of praise, but share it to illustrate how sometimes God will ask us to change our plans to be part of His. Isn’t it amazing that God can use us, flaws and all, to be a blessing to someone else? It’s often hard to be willing, but it is always so worth it to say yes.
How has God done this in your life?
Blessings,