Ephesians 6:15 – And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. (AMPC)

Yesterday, I was sitting on my walker in front of a store before heading back home. A skinny, disheveled man was there before me, pacing. "Why aren't they open yet?" he fumed.

Ah! So, this was why God had nudged me to wait. I smiled at him.

"Just retired from driving bus," he continued. "Nobody to talk to anymore. Wife left me. Said I drink too much." Oh my!

"And do you?" I asked. "Are you an alcoholic?"

"Used to be, but I kicked the habit."

"Did you go to AA meetings?"

"Nah! Too religious. Always bringing up God."

"AA is spiritual, not religious," I said.

"Whatever. You know what? Now I'm totally alone. All my drinking buddies killed themselves, one by one."

All this to a stranger! God certainly was guiding the conversation.

"You aren't planning to kill yourself, are you?"

"Nah. Not me," he said after a pause.

"So, you're promising me, today," I looked steadily into his red-rimmed eyes, "that you will not take your life, as your friends did? Promises are serious business."

"Yeah, yeah." He made a half-hearted, brushing-me-off motion. "Why doesn't this place open?"

"Do you think you might consider AA?"

"I can stay sober on my own."

But he wasn't. I stood up and held out my hand. "My name's Rose," I said. "Our lives have meaning and purpose in God's world."

He looked startled as he took my hand. "My mother's name was Rose," he said, slowly.

"Then, consider that you've just had another talk with your mother," I said. "What do you think she wants you to do?"

He didn't answer as the door opened. With one last apprehensive look back at me, he turned away.

I wasn't discouraged. With the help of God's Holy Spirit, I'd done my part. God had someone else to take him on the next step that would draw him further to faith. (The person God was readying to take him there might even have been you!) I added him to my prayer list and went along home.

There are no accidents, only appointments, someone said. That's why our conversations with God throughout the day are so important. Why are we suddenly delayed when we're trying to hurry? Who might God have for us to speak to as we do our ordinary business? The light of eternity shines to remind us that we are spiritual beings, having and sharing the human experiences that He gives us.

Isaiah 52:7a – How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace. (AMPC)

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, it is glory just to walk with You, wherever that path may lie. How grateful we are to be channels of Your love flowing through us today, and to be used by You to share Your love with those to whom You send us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rose DeShaw <rise370@gmail.com>
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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