Sometimes God's plan includes socks...
This last weekend was the Inter-Varsity Fall Conference in Winter Park, which I was blessed to be able to attend. Like I was able to do after RMGA, I would like to share some of what God spoke to me with you. There are two reasons for this. One is that it forces me to evaluate it in words for myself. Another is that I get to share just how amazing God is with you, my friends. Yet another is that it would be sad to just take what He's given me and keep it to myself. Several times this weekend, I heard emphasis on being filled "like a funnel or like a tube" - stuff goes out, but is replaced faster from above.
God has started an amazing work this last month. I keep seeing little bits of a great work. I wish that He would just show me all of it at once, but that's not how my God works. It builds my faith in Him just to be still and wait for His move. I was amazed this weekend on just how perfect God set me up. If I had not gone to RMGA, I totally would not have been prepared for what happened this weekend. If I had not started this blog, I would not have written the last post ("With God, all is backwards"). A word about that post. Typically, I am not a fan of what is referred to as "sense-line" writing, and I didn't mean it to come out the way it did. God totally led me word by word, and while I didn't think it looked anywhere close to good, I think I've heard the most positive responses from that one post. Maybe God really does know what He's doing. (In case you couldn't tell, the last sentence is quite facetious.)
To whet your appetite for more Fall Conference goodness, I have a short story about one instance where God perfectly arranged my weekend. My physics tutoring ran late Friday afternoon, so I packed my weekend duffel in an amazing hurry. After all, it's only 2 1/2 days, so all I have to do is throw in a bunch of clothes and call it good, right? I was sorting and counting clothes, and came to socks. Now, socks aren't very impressive. They have an important job of keeping your feet warm and dry, but they're not really something I would count super vital. I counted out "One pair for Saturday, 1 pair for Sunday, and 1 extra pair." I was about to move on when what I now recognize as God's nudge prompted me to throw one more pair in. Come on. I mean, they're socks. One more pair. Big deal. I can do easy stuff like that.
Saturday night, I was on my way into my weekend lodging place when I ran into one of the guys from the room next door. I politely asked how he was doing (my parents taught me to be polite to strangers. Sometimes I actually am), and he complained that he could only find 2 pairs of socks at his house when he was packing because he had just moved and hadn't become organized. Suddenly, I realized why I had packed those extra socks. It wasn't for the roller-skating that I thought I might do, and it wasn't so that I could double them up if I went "worship walking." It was so that I would have an opportunity to bless my neighbor with socks.
Later, I smiled, remembering a scene from Sheffey, an old Bob Jones University movie. The movie is about the life and work of Robert Sheffey, a circuit rider around the turn of the 20th century. (1800s-1900s, however that is appropriately denoted) One bitterly cold day, Sheffey was riding to visit Eliza's family when he meets a man struggling through the snow in the opposite direction. Sheffey accosts the man, and finds out that he's a poor man on his way to town to find a job to put food on the table. After noticing that the man's feet are very uncomfortable, Sheffey finds out that the man has no socks inside his boots. (This on an obviously below-freezing day in a blizzard) Without hesitation, Sheffey dismounts from his horse, peels off his socks, hands them to the man, blesses him, and keeps riding. By the time he finally makes it to Eliza's house, he's so chilled that he almost falls off his horse. The family brings him in and starts warming him back up. While he is recovering, Eliza mentions that she has a Christmas gift for him. She hands him a pair of hand-knit socks, saying that she didn't know his favorite color, but that she hoped indigo sould be OK.
Now I'm no circuit rider, and we had no blizzard, but I was still blessed by letting God work through me. I couldn't believe how God had set (and sets) me up to either do crazy things for Him (if I trust Him) or look really stupid (when I try to do things myself).
God has started an amazing work this last month. I keep seeing little bits of a great work. I wish that He would just show me all of it at once, but that's not how my God works. It builds my faith in Him just to be still and wait for His move. I was amazed this weekend on just how perfect God set me up. If I had not gone to RMGA, I totally would not have been prepared for what happened this weekend. If I had not started this blog, I would not have written the last post ("With God, all is backwards"). A word about that post. Typically, I am not a fan of what is referred to as "sense-line" writing, and I didn't mean it to come out the way it did. God totally led me word by word, and while I didn't think it looked anywhere close to good, I think I've heard the most positive responses from that one post. Maybe God really does know what He's doing. (In case you couldn't tell, the last sentence is quite facetious.)
To whet your appetite for more Fall Conference goodness, I have a short story about one instance where God perfectly arranged my weekend. My physics tutoring ran late Friday afternoon, so I packed my weekend duffel in an amazing hurry. After all, it's only 2 1/2 days, so all I have to do is throw in a bunch of clothes and call it good, right? I was sorting and counting clothes, and came to socks. Now, socks aren't very impressive. They have an important job of keeping your feet warm and dry, but they're not really something I would count super vital. I counted out "One pair for Saturday, 1 pair for Sunday, and 1 extra pair." I was about to move on when what I now recognize as God's nudge prompted me to throw one more pair in. Come on. I mean, they're socks. One more pair. Big deal. I can do easy stuff like that.
Saturday night, I was on my way into my weekend lodging place when I ran into one of the guys from the room next door. I politely asked how he was doing (my parents taught me to be polite to strangers. Sometimes I actually am), and he complained that he could only find 2 pairs of socks at his house when he was packing because he had just moved and hadn't become organized. Suddenly, I realized why I had packed those extra socks. It wasn't for the roller-skating that I thought I might do, and it wasn't so that I could double them up if I went "worship walking." It was so that I would have an opportunity to bless my neighbor with socks.
Later, I smiled, remembering a scene from Sheffey, an old Bob Jones University movie. The movie is about the life and work of Robert Sheffey, a circuit rider around the turn of the 20th century. (1800s-1900s, however that is appropriately denoted) One bitterly cold day, Sheffey was riding to visit Eliza's family when he meets a man struggling through the snow in the opposite direction. Sheffey accosts the man, and finds out that he's a poor man on his way to town to find a job to put food on the table. After noticing that the man's feet are very uncomfortable, Sheffey finds out that the man has no socks inside his boots. (This on an obviously below-freezing day in a blizzard) Without hesitation, Sheffey dismounts from his horse, peels off his socks, hands them to the man, blesses him, and keeps riding. By the time he finally makes it to Eliza's house, he's so chilled that he almost falls off his horse. The family brings him in and starts warming him back up. While he is recovering, Eliza mentions that she has a Christmas gift for him. She hands him a pair of hand-knit socks, saying that she didn't know his favorite color, but that she hoped indigo sould be OK.
Now I'm no circuit rider, and we had no blizzard, but I was still blessed by letting God work through me. I couldn't believe how God had set (and sets) me up to either do crazy things for Him (if I trust Him) or look really stupid (when I try to do things myself).
Praise His name! He alone is truly great and all-powerful!
posted by The student of life at 11:54 PM
1 Comments:
That's a great story. Yay God! I can't wait to hear the rest.
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