You won’t believe what happened to me this week! Our last monthly retreat focused on wisdom as a primary gift of the Holy Spirit, and wooo-weee did the Holy Spirit show up.
At the gym where I work out regularly, there’s a young father. We’ve never really talked to each other, just a warm hello each day. Surprisingly, one day, the Holy Spirit showed me that this young man was crying and praying fervently for something. I could feel God’s tender love and joy for him. I could feel how proud God is of him and his prayer. When something like this happens to me, I will always ask Our Lord what he wants me to do with this information. Sometimes I’m to pray for the person, and sometimes I have to act. Well, He was clear with me that he wanted me to tell the young man about God’s heart for him. UGH! Trust me; I did not want to do this. How awkward! I pleaded with God and told Him, “this isn’t a good idea,” “please, no,” and “I don’t even know the guy!”
As I was working out the next day, the young man was there too. The entire time I begged God not to make me do it, and at the end of the session, I chickened out.
I didn’t return to the gym for a week. My family was traveling to LA for a baptism and forgot about my small mission. But upon my return to the gym the following Monday, the Spirit was very serious. “Today is the day,” He told me. I couldn’t let Him down this time. So, after we worked out, I waited for the young father to be alone and approached him with the message of God’s love, how proud God is of him, that God is in control, and whatever he’s praying for God is taking care. I told the guy that I didn’t even know if he prayed and that I’m just delivering a message. He stood there with his mouth open in what looked like shock. He didn’t say a word to me. After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, I turned around and ran to my car.
It’s been three weeks since that encounter with the young man, and he’s never said a word to me, until last Monday. After we finished working out, I noticed that he was hanging around, but didn’t think much of it. As I was leaving, he yelled out to me, “Any timeline on that answered prayer?” I stopped in my tracks, turned around, and approached him with curiosity. Standing in front of him I told him that I don’t have a timeline because God didn’t say anything about timing only that He knows what you are asking and He’s delighted. The young man responded with this:
“You need to know something. The day you told me God’s message, I went to my car and cried for fifteen minutes. That morning I had asked God to send me a human being to tell me that it was going to be ok, that He hears me. And then, you came up to me. You, a human being, told me that God knows and is taking care of the situation. You have no idea how much that means to me to know that I don’t have to be in control or do this myself. That God’s got this!
Like, how did that happen? Does this happen to you often?”
Hahaha! Oh, the gift of wisdom! Isn’t it exhilarating to know that God allows us to help him? It’s just so fun!
My amazing sisters of prayer, would you please join me
in praying for the young dad? I’ll keep you posted!
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