Sometimes I feel like I am writing and not a single person is reading. I know that people follow my writing online—most of them know me—but I often wonder if they are being touched at all. Not that I need confirmation, but I do sometimes want to know that my writing is heard. Even so, I write and I pray.
The other day, a friend of mine called me. She told me that she was reading my articles and tried to copy and paste them to a Word document, but couldn’t. She asked me if there was some way that I could copy them (since I write them) because she wanted to print them out. I was kind of confused; doesn’t she know it’s not the ’90s anymore and most people just forward them in an email or something? I told her to tell me which ones she wanted me to send to her, and before I could question why, she had to hang up.
The next morning, I was still waiting for her to call me and tell me why she wanted these. Almost immediately, my phone rang and it was her. Bizarre. I answered. She explained to me that she wanted to print these at work and then mail them to the jail. Recently, she has been having a very difficult time. Her boyfriend messed up, as we all do. But this mess-up turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. He made a mistake, but the law doesn’t accept apologies, and in his case, the law threw the book at him and now he is serving time in prison.
It may be small, but God is moving.
Initially, this situation was earth shattering for her family and her. Having NEVER had any experience in this particular plot twist, she felt somewhat embarrassed by this change in her life. Accepting calls from a prisoner, putting money on a commissary so that he can have proper hygiene and food… It was sending her into an absolute whirlwind, and her whole life began to crumble.
But in this awful situation, somehow a light shone through the dark. A few months into his sentence, he got sober and started to attend the church in the jail. This brought him back to his childhood faith, and eventually, as she explains it, he began leading the church there!
At this news, I was flabbergasted! Let me be honest, I have never had any dealings with the law. I have only gotten one ticket in my entire life, and it was for speeding, which I deserved. I watch TV and movies about jail, but just wasn’t sure what was fact and what was fiction.
But in her experience with this, she has leaned on me a lot for prayer and support because she knows I would never judge her. It’s not my place. She went on to say that on one of her very short phone calls with him, she told him about my articles, and I guess he took an interest in them. So now, for whatever reason, she wants me to copy them in an email for her so that she can print them out and mail them to him, so he can in turn share them with his prison mates. Talk about spreading the good news!
As she spoke told me all this, I was pulling into my driveway and, covered in goosebumps, I began to cry. I just couldn’t believe that this was the way God was reaching us.
His reach is so far that sometimes, we are almost blind to where he is. But to me, this was proof that not only am I being heard, but that people are listening. And if this article is reaching out to those men in prison, if this is one of those printed and read in a service led by this transformed man, I say this:
You are never too far gone for God. He can rescue your heavy heart. I pray for each and every one of you today and every day. God bless your efforts.
Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens
Psalm 144:7
I assured her that when she told me which articles she wanted, I would get them to her. And I tearfully told her that she was an answer to my prayer that day. All the times she’s called me in tears, and here I am thanking her for calling me to tell me this.
It may be small, but God is moving. He is all around in everything. And not just in every good thing: He can even be found in the hardest places. He meets me when I need Him most. And He meets you where you need Him most. Don’t give up.
Be safe, be great, be you! AMEN
Reality Changing Observations:
1. What events in your life have you ever been embarrassed to embrace, and how do you think sharing may change that?
2. When needing confirmation from your prayer, in what ways does God show you He sees you?
3. What are some ways that God has moved through you to help others?
