“Infinitely beyond what we could ever ask or think”

There are only a few times in my life that I can point to and say, “I know for sure that this is the Spirit of God working.” This week, I have found myself saying that more than once. I am caught up in the web of your prayers for me, and I am filled with joy at the things I have to share!

First, many of you have been praying for my aunt Carol in her recovery from a bike accident in which she broke her neck and has been partially paralyzed. This week has brought about some amazing progress, and through a “mistake” in the way one of her trach tubes was inserted, she is now able to talk and communicate. Prior to this, she hadn’t been able to talk because of the way she is being fed and ventilated. When the physical therapist came to see her and found her talking, he said he had never seen anything like it in his whole working experience. As my uncle put it in his hospital journal, “Miracle? You decide.” What is most evident from this accident, and the enormous amount of prayer for their family, is that they are being carried on the wings of God’s mercy and the prayers of the Body of Christ. This is what God created for us to be – a family that carries one another through the pain of this world. It is a beautiful thing to see.

Secondly, I have to share what a feeling of unworthiness and humility I feel when God honors me with the chance to share about Jesus and His Kingdom. I don’t know if I even remember the last time I sat with someone and really laid out the ideas of the gospel in an authentic and “non-hokey” way – I mean, really listening to the Holy Spirit guiding my tongue and me actually OBEYING its voice. I had an opportunity on Friday afternoon to talk with one of the girls from my first year seminar. She was one I went to the beach with last Saturday, and I have had a lot of chances to talk with her throughout the week.

One of the first writing assignments for the first-years is to interview someone and write about paper about them. This student chose to interview me, and she asked some really great questions that allowed me to talk a lot about my faith and about why I am at LCC. (It’s funny how rejuvenating it can be to vocalize things that are so important to me but that I sometimes forget to meditate on!) After she had finished interviewing me, I asked if I could ask her some of the questions she had asked me. I could tell she was open to talking deeply, and we were able to really delve into her beliefs about God and heaven and what happens to people when they die. I found myself really connecting with her, and hearing the Spirit telling me how to touch upon what is important to her.

I am astounded by this encounter, so EARLY in my time here – my expectations of my God are clearly too low! I have imagined many months of relationship building and interaction to be allowed the chance at such a conversation, and instead, God orchestrated it already. I gave this student a hug and told her I would be praying for her friend (and for her as well). I would ask your prayers as well as I continue to talk with her and invest in her life.

This episode has reminded me and encouraged me to stay true to my reasons for coming to LCC, which is – as a fellow teacher vocalized so simply this week - “I want to spend my life on things that have eternal value.” How easily I forget this and get caught up in the temporal, the trite, the small.