Sometimes, a day that begins like any other can lead to choices that change eternity for someone you know. Let me tell you about just such a day.
My office building was “cleaned” by a lady named Ruth. I say “cleaned” after a report of the lunchroom tables being wiped down with her wet mop. Ruth was quite a character. She smoked like a chimney and could often be found taking extended breaks on a wooden bench in the ladies’ change room.
Life had not been gentle to this woman and although she was a decade younger than me, she always seemed worn out, like the mop was holding her up as she shuffled down the hall. She was a quirky lady and didn’t have many friends in the building, but I liked her.
One day she approached me, worried stiff, awaiting the results of a lung biopsy. She asked if I had been upset when I received my cancer diagnosis and wondered how I had coped.
I told Ruth about the peace that comes with prayer. I explained my relationship with Jesus and how He hears me and understands. With that, she went about her day. But not so with me.
As I returned to my duties, I felt God tell me, “You need to go and pray with her.”
Let me tell you, I did NOT want to do that. Not at my job, not in front of my co-workers. But God did not let up. He was relentless and I knew it. I tried to bargain with Him. If You bring her here into my office, where I can shut the door, THEN I will do it.
No dice.
As my workday wound down, I knew I needed to find Ruth. And find her I did, in a huge central room with all glass walls. The most conspicuous place in the building. And there I held her close and we prayed and she cried. She never returned to work.
Months passed until one day Ruth’s husband showed up in my office. She had begged him to bring her, and the sight of my friend flooded my heart with compassion. She was unrecognizable. A hundred pounds lighter, bald and weak, her poor body ravaged with the effects of chemotherapy. Again we prayed and as time passed I visited her in Palliative Care where I had the privilege of sharing my faith and hope for eternity only a few days before her death.
I’m sharing this story today not because I deserve any kind of pat on the back. Quite the contrary. I obeyed kicking and protesting all the way.
Listen, sister today I want to encourage you. God is at work! He is doing amazing things all around us.
Is He prodding you today? Do you hear his quiet voice? Perhaps you know what He is asking. Maybe it’s uncomfortable, scary even. Maybe, like me, you are trying to negotiate a deal with God. Obedience on your terms.
Oh, sister. Let’s be women who listen.
❤ Tess
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.”
Isaiah 30:21
Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
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