Tuesday was just a glorious day for walking! The sun was shining, the birds were singing! We were having one of those Virginia midwinter days that hit the 70's. A wonderful reminder and promise of the coming spring!
I love when these days hit, and we seem to get a few each winter--contrasting with our normal weather of darkness and gloom, bluster and rain, and even cold and snow. Everyone around seems to smile just a bit more, basking in that pre-spring glow.
A promise of the warm weather to come.
Isn't it the same with God?
In the darkest times of my life, when I have felt broken to pieces and lying in a heap on the floor, ready for the dustbin, He gives me reminders that He is there, that He cares, that one season leads naturally into another.
A long time ago, 1990 to be exact, I was leading a life that was very far from God. Then I was introduced to some wonderful Christian people, and decided to get my life together and to walk with Him. I met with the minister of our church to discuss my baptism. We met in a local restaurant for coffee, sitting for a couple hours in discussion. Our waitress was diligent during our entire visit...carefully filling and refilling our coffee cups...and probably catching snippets of our conversation as she was in and out of our area.
It came time to leave. Our sweet minister Dale and I prayed and then asked for the check. Our waitress came over and proceeded to hand us bits of paper instead of a check. "Merry Christmas," she said, not understanding fully what was going on, perhaps not being a believer herself, but recognizing that things of God were happening right there in front of her, and reacting, prompted I am sure by the Lord to respond. Our endless cups of coffee cost us nothing...and may have even cost her a bit.
We were surprised, of course. Dale said, "I've never had anything like this happen before!" I just smiled, even then. God was talking to me through this sweet and attentive waitress, a promise of things to come in my life with Him, and I recognized it as such.
Thus began my life with the Lord. He's always there, whether I see Him working or not. And...when I need those reminders the most...like the warm spring days in the middle of a Virginia winter, He reminds me that He is and always will be.
Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,But a shout of joy comes in the morning. -- Psalm 30:4-5
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Love this. :)
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