March 17, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

Check In With God

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11

Sandra Angelo had this experience:

I had a fabulous business trip to New York. The city was so clean and safe. There were cops on every corner and in subways and the people were nice...! It was amazing. I had a blast! Want to go back and explore some more! Here's the neatest thing that happened to me whilst I was there.

"Excuse me Sir, could you please tell me how to ride the bus," I asked a nicely dressed business man who was standing on 5th Avenue in New York.

"I've been standing by this bus stop but they don't seem to stop for me," I continued. "I don't know if I'm supposed to use money or a pass or where to get catch it or where to stand" my voice trailed off. With a bemused look, he kindly offered to help me by accepting my fare and using his pass to get me on the bus. It turned out we were going the same way.

The ride, which should have taken 5 minutes turned into 30 because of terrible traffic congestion. One simply can't talk about weather forever, so we were forced to sort of get acquainted. He seemed fascinated by stories of my upbringing in Africa and my job, teaching art lessons to people who can't even draw a straight line. He asked lots of questions.

As we disembarked and walked towards the Met together, he said, "You've lead a fascinating life. We write stories about people like you at my magazine. Perhaps I should get your card."

"Which magazine is that?" I queried.

"People Magazine." He replied.

I was blown away. For over 10 years I have been visualizing myself being written up in People one day. I knew I had to write my books and produce the videos first, but this year I realized it was time to get the word out. I had hired a publicity agent, but even so, it's incredibly difficult to get access to the right people. Here in front of me was the Senior Writer, from People asking for my card.

And if that wasn't surprising enough, at that very moment, I was actually supposed to be on a plane heading toward California. That morning, I had impulsively decided to prolong my visit and take a later flight, just so that I could catch one more museum.

Throughout my 4 day business trip, I had not really taken time to pray or read the Bible. I did a lot of that before I left, but I was so busy doing business that I hadn't made time. But this morning, I had an extra hour so I read a story in Guideposts about a man who lost his wedding ring in a garbage can. With virtually no hope of finding it, he traveled to the dump to search through the miles of bags. After scouring the dump for hours, he felt overwhelmed and hopeless. Suddenly he remembered that he hadn't asked God for help. He knelt down on the garbage heap and prayed. When he looked up, there was his ring, glistening in the sun.

I got the message. Here I had been doing my business without checking in with God. So I knelt down and asked God to lead me, bless my day and direct me as to whether or not I should take the scheduled flight or linger in the city a little while longer. That day, He placed me on the right street corner, with buses refusing to stop, and, of all the people I could have asked, he directed me to this the Senior Writer for People Magazine. Then He prolonged our ride so we could chat. Since I didn't know who the man was, I was relaxed and acted naturally. And if that wasn't enough, God saw to it that he asked for my card, not the other way around. Wow! I just love it when God makes it so obvious who's in charge.

Sometimes like Martha in the Bible, I rush about and get so busy, I forget to sit at his feet and put the kingdom of God first. I chase after things and if I have time left, I spend time with God. But He says, "Seek ye first, the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you." What a poignant reminder.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you remember to always check in with Him before doing anything else.

"As we trust God to give us wisdom for today's decisions, He will lead us a step at a time into what He wants us to be doing in the future."
~Theodore Epp