There’s Got To Be an Easier Way To Get Readers – P. S.

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 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season – II Timothy 4:2a

Friday my first installment of another “There’s-got-to-be-an-easier-way-to-get-readers” story appeared, and yesterday the conclusion of that story followed.

Side note: I’ve been trying to reconcile the two kinds of posts – the ones so long certain people won’t read them, and “cliffhangers” that bother other people.

For those of you with time to read them, here are parts 1 and 2:

There’s Got To Be an Easier Way To Get Readers – Episode Two

There’s Got To Be an Easier Way To Get Readers – Episode Two (Continued)

Today I had a related experience that made me laugh, and I wanted to share it with y’all as a post-script of sorts to my two-parter.

I was taking my usual morning “prayer walk,” where I gather my thoughts for the day and give everything to the Lord, so He can discard the garbage and preserve and protect the good stuff. As usual, early on I “put on the whole armor of God” – the “belt of truth” wrapped around me to keep me grounded, the “helmet of salvation” to guard my mind, and the “breastplate of righteousness” to guard my heart. Then there’s the combat boots …

“Having my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” in my prayers sounds like this:

“Lord, today send me where You want me to go. Let me encounter the people You want me to encounter and speak the words You want me to speak. May I stand firm in the gospel of peace, even as I am resting in the peace of the gospel.”

That day I encountered numerous people on the pier. It was a good day for walking and fishing. There were the usual casual greetings and petting friendly dogs and quietly smiling at fishermen. But as I was walking home along the road, there was one man who made a point of speaking to me. He apparently had something that was too exciting to keep to himself, and which he couldn’t wait to tell someone, even though he didn’t know me from Eve.

He stopped his truck and declared through the open window, “I really got lucky today!” I looked at him quizzically. He went on to tell me he had left his cell phone on top of his truck and didn’t realize until he needed to use it that it wasn’t in the cab. He’d thought he had lost it forever. But it had slid off the roof into the back of his truck, and he was able to retrieve it. He exclaimed once again, “I really got lucky!”

Those who know me (or just those who read yesterday’s post) know my standard answer: “I don’t believe in luck.” I told him I’d had an accident on the highway just the week before and could have been killed but came out of it without a scratch.

His eyes got big, and he repeated what the Midas man had said, verbatim: “Somebody was looking out for you.”

I smiled. “He’s been looking out for me for 71 years,” I told him. He smiled back, as if to let me know he doesn’t really believe in “luck,” either.

“Well,” I said, “God bless you the rest of the day, too.” He grinned, thanked me, and drove on.

As he drove away, I questioned whether I should have said more. I suppose there are those who would have launched into a full-blown explanation of the gospel then and there, but as often happens, I didn’t get the feeling that was needed. I prayed he caught a glimpse of my “Jesus” necklace and could recognize who that “Somebody” is that’s been looking out for me. I prayed he’d see his near mishap/disaster with his cell phone as a playful a wink from God, who is looking out for him, too. Anyway, I was grateful for the opportunity to give a min-testimony. (How did I sum up two days’ worth of blog posts into one sentence?!)

So, as Scripture says, we should be ready in season and out of season. You never know when someone will come along, who for some reason feels they just have to talk to you!

Prayer: Lord, we know You can and do send us where You want us to go, and You set up “divine appointments” anytime, anywhere. Thank You for giving us lives that are full of surprises, big and small, when we turn our days over to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Published by seekingdivineperspective

I am a forgiven sinner and adopted child of God, seeking to see life from His perspective - as opposed to the world's flawed perspective - and living my life accordingly.

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27 thoughts on “There’s Got To Be an Easier Way To Get Readers – P. S.”

    1. When I was posting once a week, without fail (I’m a little OCD…), I would make people wait a week to see what happened. Now, if I’m continuing a story, I post part 2 the next day. In these days of binge-watching series on Netflix, it seems unrealistic for “li’l ol’ me” to keep readers interested and hanging on for that long. My stories aren’t THAT riveting! lol

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  10. Reading about your GPS adventure, I was reminded of the first time Pete and I tried to use a GPS. It was in Germany and the GPS had us driving on the sidewalk. (We figured out it was sidewalk rather than a street when there were all these people walking on it and giving us really startled looks.) Seems there was someone looking out for us too, because no one got arrested in a foreign country. LOL

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    1. (“Stupid Americans…” 😏)

      The first few times I used a GPS I kept turning too soon – the moment the arrow appeared, instead of looking to see how far ahead the turn was. That was especially bad when I turned onto a one-way street.🙄 More recently I had one that showed me driving into the river. I guess no one had told it yet that there’s a bridge there now. Still, I can’t imagine taking a trip now without one, can you?

      P. S. I’m glad you were being looked out for, too! (And all the startled people on the sidewalk 😆)

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  11. After encounters similar to yours, Annie, I too have wondered: Did I say enough? Should I have tried to engage him/her more? My conclusion has been the same as yours. Not every occasion lends itself to a lengthy, in-depth conversation. Sometimes we plant seeds, sometimes we water seeds already planted, but it is God who makes them grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). What we can ALWAYS do is pray for the other person.

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