Where Is This Prince of Peace?

Since I’m on “sabbatical” (sort of), I decided this year to repost some of the Christmas pieces that are close to my heart, for those who may not have seen them, or who enjoyed them and want to revisit them. This one was posted just last year, after the horrendous attack on Israel. (The music video at the end brought me to tears – again.)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” – Psalm 122:6-7

With the fast-approaching celebration of the birth of Yeshua, the Messiah, traditional carols have taken on a new meaning to many of us. The unimaginable horrors occurring in the region of the birthplace of Jesus are no doubt adding a sense of urgency to the desire for a Savior to come and deliver His people – to deliver all people – from the evils of this world.

Selah’s rendition of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” has woven into the melody the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.” (Translation: “The Hope.”) It is heart-rending, and the accompanying scenes from “The Nativity Story” complete the picture of the world Jesus was born into, the world He came to save, so desperately in need of Him.

Take a few moments, watch, listen, meditate, and “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we ponder Your coming to save us, help us to know You better. Bring us closer to being the people You want us to be. In Your name we pray, amen.

A Freebie for Your Church

I am coming soon. – Jesus, Revelation 3:11a

Last year I posted about a beloved traditional Advent song that our choir director felt needed more verses. I shared the verses I added, highlighting Jesus other “comings” – out of the grave (Yeeha!) and His Second Coming, yet to happen.

For The Musical Believers: As Advent Is Here …

I just want to let my readers know that these verses are still not copyrighted, so if the Spirit leads, feel free to share these lyrics with your music minister, choir director – or sing them yourselves.

Come, Thou whom the prophets promised,
Thou of whom the cantors sing.
Come, Immanuel, God, be with us,
Thou our Prophet, Priest and King.
Jesus, Thou art all perfection,
Thou, whose fellowship we crave;
Thou the Life and Resurrection,
Come redeem us from the grave.

Come, Thou King, receive Thy kingdom;
With the angels, split the skies!
Come with clouds and trumpet sounding,
Bid Thy slumb’ring children rise.
Gather in Thine arms so tender
Sinners saved through faith alone,
Through the gates of heav’nly splendor
Unto our eternal home.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, whatever happens in the coming days, whether we are celebrating Your birth with joyful abandon, or we feel there is little to celebrate this year, help us always to be mindful that You are alive and coming again, and it could be any day – any moment. And may we live our lives accordingly. In Your name, amen.

Remember Grumpy Jackson?

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – I Thessalonians 5:18

Some of my readers might remember Jackson, the little boy who invited the neighborhood bully to Sunday school. The bigger boy not only refused his invitation, he made fun of Jackson, making it clear he wanted nothing to do with God.

This makes Jackson grumpy! When he decides he’d like to be “cool” like the other boy, he uses the same line: “What did God ever do for me?” He has no idea he is about to go on a journey that will show him God does plenty. Jackson is going to learn that blessings don’t have to take the form of spectacular miracles. By the end of the journey, Jackson has gone from grumpy to very grateful!

If you have a little reader who is ready for “chapter books,” this might be a good place to start. It comes with illustrations by my good friend and award-winning artist, Roberta Dills, a vocabulary list, and suggestions for a family activity to generate gratitude in everybody.

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Grumpy to Grateful” is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=grumpy+to+grateful+by+Ann+Aschauer&crid=31PQCFP19L9P4&sprefix=grumpy+to+grateful+by+ann+aschauer%2Caps%2C183&ref=nb_sb_noss

Prayer: Lord, when we think of what we have to be grateful for, we hardly know where to start! Thank You for creating us to be objects of Your love and expressing that love through such an incredible gift – the sacrifice of Your Son! And thank You for the millions of ways You continue to show that love every day. May we love You with all we are and all we do, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Little Time Is a Dangerous Thing.

Be very careful, then, how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. – Ephesians 5:15 – 16

Yesterday I woke up very early – or seemingly early. During the night, 2:00 A. M. had miraculously become 1:00 A. M.! It was that wonderful once-a-year privilege of turning our clocks back and “gaining” an hour! (We didn’t really gain an hour, just got back the hour we “lost” last spring.) I don’t know if other countries do the “spring-forward-fall-back” thing called “Daylight Savings’ Time,” but it’s a ritual carried out twice a year in most of the United States. My sister’s state of Arizona doesn’t indulge in such nonsense; consequently, she and I are two hours apart half the year and three hours apart the other half. In case we run out of things to think about when trying to figure out when to call each other.

But I digress …

One would think an extra hour would be a great help for someone like me who struggles with being on time. But anyone with punctuality problems will tell you, extra time isn’t always helpful.

I could blame my genes. When I was growing up, my family, the “tardy Hardys” were typically the last ones to arrive, and with my father, who never met a stranger, we were sometimes the last to leave. Our Sunday morning theme song was, “Sunday school is over, and we are going home,” the song wafting from the children’s Sunday school room as we pulled into the parking lot. (In our defense, that only happened once, the “spring-forward” weekend the year we forgot to reset our clocks.)

Digressing again …

Anyway, yesterday as I got up well before the alarm went off, I had a great feeling of being in control of the Sunday morning situation. I wasn’t just on time, I was ahead of time! I brewed a pot of coffee and sipped it smugly while answering a couple of text message that had come in. Hey, I had time, right? I went through all my morning routines – physical therapy, washing my face, fixing my hair, light breakfast, even making the bed. Being ahead of time was great!

But at one point (probably after changing my mind twice about what to wear) I realized I was no longer running way ahead of time. (Surprise.)

I still had about ten minutes to spare, though … if I could get out the door immediately.

I drove to church, applying my makeup whenever I sat at a red light. Once there, I debated where to park – Could I find a spot that was pleasantly close to church without being obviously selfish and taking the closest spot? By the time I had put the “club” on my steering wheel, gathered my purse, coffee, and Bible, I was sensing the Spirit telling me to give a couple of protein bars to the people who were rummaging through the nearby dumpster. A brief conversation ensued, and I invited them to church. I prayed with one of them for a job and made a couple of suggestions. By the time I reached my classroom, (You guessed it.) the teacher was finishing the opening prayer. My metal cannister of coffee fell to the floor, loudly announcing my arrival.

What happened to that extra hour?!

The Sunday school class was an in-depth study of Revelation, and the lesson that day focused on the coming Judgment of God. In that day there will be two kinds of people: those who are given grace, forgiveness, and eternal blessings, and those who face the wrath of God. (Revelation 8 has a chilling description of the latter.)

Having started the morning in the final book of the Bible, in the worship service we heard a message from Genesis, the book of beginnings. The subject was the Great Flood, when God brought judgment onto the world, sparing only Noah and his family. The rest of Mankind perished, the people Jesus later described as eating and drinking and marrying – carrying on “business as usual” – oblivious and unprepared for the judgment.

The message of both Genesis and Revelation – and every book in between – warns us:

God is holy, and He will judge justly. His wrath is justified. If we get what we deserve, we are all doomed.

But God is also merciful. He has provided a way to escape. Although we are powerless to save ourselves, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, willingly died on the cross, taking on Himself the punishment for our sins. We can come to Him, ask His forgiveness, and begin a new life with Him. This is the only way. If we turn it down, we are left to pay the penalty ourselves.

Someone I know and have been praying for recently went through a bit of a “scare,” medically, and during the time of uncertainty, he developed an intense interest in knowing God and salvation. He was reading the Bible, asking questions, and even requesting prayer. He had been to church for the past couple of Sundays and heard some very direct messages about God’s holiness, our sinfulness and depravity, and God’s offer of forgiveness.

Friday this person was given a clean bill of health! While thrilled for him, I wondered if he would show up at church yesterday. I was delighted to see him back, in spite of the fact that the immediate crisis had passed. – That crisis, anyway. Perhaps he’s realizing that any one of us could face sudden judgment any day, any minute.

The notion that “I still have plenty of time” can be deceiving and dangerous. Today most of us don’t think much about the certainty of death. But maybe we should. It will come, sooner or later. – What if it’s sooner?

To everyone reading this, I hope you have entrusted your soul Christ. We cannot save ourselves, and without Him we have no hope of escaping the just judgment of a holy God. If you haven’t repented and turned to Him for forgiveness and salvation, you can do it right now. Confess your sin and hopelessness apart from Him, acknowledge Jesus’ death as your atoning sacrifice, and commit to live the rest of your life for Him.

Whether the rest of your life is another day, or you “still have lots of time,” give that time to Him. You won’t regret it.

Prayer: Lord, You have given us each a set number of days on this earth, and we want to live our lives the way You created us to. Thank You for a new day, and whether it’s our last day on earth, or one in thousands, may we glorify You with it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Satan’s Worst Nightmare

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. – I John 3:8

Today you may find yourself surrounded by graveyards, zombies, and other decor celebrating death. Just remember the One who defeated death and promised eternal life to those who love Him. – He’s coming back!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on our behalf to pay for our sins. We were lost, beyond hope, and irredeemable, until You offered Yourself as our atoning sacrifice. (We are not our own, we were bought with a price.) Thank You for freeing us from the fear of death, so we can live our lives to the fullest. Help us to live for Your glory. In Your name we pray. Amen.

Before Sitting This One Out …

[I]f anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchmen accountable for his blood. – Ezekiel 33: 4 & 6

I’m part of a group of women – prayer warriors – who pray together for the nation once a week. (At 71, I’m possibly the youngest in the group!) We may seem small, but we’re doing what we can, praying that the American people, especially the Church, will repent of our sins of commission, and especially our sins of omission. If you are one of the large block of American Evangelicals who do not vote, and who haven’t even registered to vote, before sitting out another election, please consider the following:

In the Bible we read about whole civilizations that experienced judgment (or consequences) for the evil actions of their leaders, although ordinary citizens of these countries had no say in what their leaders did. How much more will we be accountable if we do have a voice but remain silent as our leaders take us down the road to disaster?

Evil and corruption have inundated America, from our government to our media, to our education system, to our entertainment, and virtually every other area of our culture. The reason the country is in the state it’s in is because the Church has remained silent for so long on moral issues that have been redefined as “political.”

As Eric Metaxas pointed out in his book, Letter to the American Church, if the Church in Germany in the 1930’s had resisted Hitler’s forces, the outcome might have been vastly different. But precious few believers took a stand, while the rest just “sang a little louder” to drown out the bothersome screams of the Jews being transported past their churches to the concentration camps. It’s possible that the Christians in Germany in the 30’s were unaware of the scope of what was happening, and perhaps we could give them the benefit of the doubt. But today in America we have no such excuse. It is all too clear the direction this country is heading. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

It’s true that there are no perfect choices in this election; the candidates are deeply flawed, but so are we! If we “sit this one out,” refusing to vote for “the lesser of two evils,” we are letting a vote for the greater evil go unchallenged. I believe we will be held accountable for what we could have done but didn’t. If we fail to vote out of sheer laziness, shame on us. If we’re neglecting to make our voice because we refuse to be associated with imperfect policies or people (not wanting to get our hands dirty), God is not impressed.

(Sticking one’s head in the sand leaves other parts of the anatomy vulnerable.)

If we believe Christians should “stick to preaching the gospel,” (exactly what Hitler told the German church to do) and not get into anything “political,” look around you – everything is political these days. Note that even what used to be the two “safest” topics of conversation – one’s health and the weather – have been politicized!

(I’m glad Queen Esther didn’t refuse to get involved in politics.)

This is not a contest of Republican versus Democrat or liberal versus conservative. It’s a matter of good versus evil.

We can’t save America, but we are called to be salt (Matthew 5: 13), which doesn’t stop the decaying process altogether but does slow it down. Woe to us if we sit by, say nothing, and watch our country rot.

Is it too late now for the Church to speak up? There’s only one way to find out.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we see the state of the world today, and it’s easy to feel helpless to do anything about it. But You have enlisted us in Your army, and it is a vast army! You have armed Your people with “the full armor of God” and joined us together with the angelic armies of heaven. Give us each discernment to know what part we play in occupying until You come and help us not to shirk our duty. Give us courage to take a stand, strength to be faithful, and supernatural boldness and protection as we confront evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Another) Answer to a Routine Prayer – from WHERE?!

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

It started out as a normal day. (Most of my adventures do these days.) Marty was playing pickleball, but what had become his new passion was off limits for me; twenty years of running had taken its toll on my knees, and starting-stopping-twisting-turning-type activities were a little too risky. I’ll stick with hiking, biking, and kayaking. A two-mile walk to the end of the pier and back is a perfect time to get in my morning prayers.

…or afternoon prayers. With my ADHD tendencies, I am grateful the Lord is patient. This was one of those days, and it was past noon by the time I started out with everything I needed. (When I used to walk the dog and also needed poop bags, treats, and leash, it’s a wonder I got out the door at all.)

My prayers were the normal stuff – offering my body to the Lord (Romans 12:1), offering Him my mind (II Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2), etc. As I gave Him my body, mind, and heart, I “put on the armor of God” – the belt of Truth, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6). When “having my feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace,” I prayed the usual things: that I would go where the Lord wants me to go, encounter the people He wants me to encounter, and speak the words He wants me to speak. This prayer often gives me a sense of anticipation – how will He answer it today? Though I get frustrated with myself, I know God is very good at working with what He has; if I make myself available to Him, He’ll do the rest.

It was mostly a solitary walk. The summer people were gone, and the chill in the air makes one reluctant to get out. But the trees were finally starting to change color, and the “wooly worms” crawled across the path, their black and orange colors (according to superstition) predicting a harsh or mild winter. One was solid orange. (Well, you’re a little optimist, aren’t you?) Across the channel I could see people walking the other pier, most of them bundled up, expect for a few kids in swimsuits jumping into the water. (Insanity isn’t a frame of mind, it’s a way of life.)

On the way back, as I waded through the hundreds of acorns, thinking either there was a bumper crop that year or the squirrels weren’t doing their job, I wondered if they were edible for humans, although I had never heard of anyone eating them. I made a mental note to google it.

I was almost home when a woman in a car stopped and asked me where the lighthouse was. It couldn’t be seen from the road, so I explained that she would have to park and walk past a couple of houses to get to the pier. I noticed three things about her: her walking stick, beautiful blue eyes, and an exotic-sounding accent, I guessed Russian, or maybe eastern European. As I tried to estimate how far it was, and about the spot where she might have trouble walking over some rocks and another section that was sandy, I finally offered to go with her. She parked the car, and I repeated the pier part of my walk, this time a little slower and getting to know my new friend Luda. We had a lot in common – our age, our love of the area, and our active lifestyle – at least until recently. Luda had been riding her bike 20 miles a day, sometimes as much as 50 miles when her husband was living, before an accident that had left her struggling to get around. She was about where I was a year ago, so we talked about hip replacement, and of course I had to tell her how much it helped me to get the sugar out of my diet. It was this sacrifice that had taken me from struggling to walk to walking pain-free in less than two days. She confessed her addiction to sugar – I think most of us can relate – and I told her about some of my recipes for sugar-free chocolates and the baked apples Marty and I have been having for dessert every night. She asked me what I cover the apples with to bake them, and when I said aluminum foil, she scolded me. “Don’t ever let food touch aluminum foil!” Wow, I thought, she’s even more of a health nut than I am. I could tell we were going to get along great! 😉 As we walked through the mass of acorns, Luda said casually, “You can eat these, you know.” (!) She described cooking them and told me about a website where I could learn about things growing in the wild that are good for food – just in case we might need that information to survive someday.

When we got back to her car, Luda told me that she had not wanted to go out that day, but she had forced herself to get out of that chair and go! She said she had walked farther with me than she ever would have by herself. (She wouldn’t have known where to go, anyway.) She had been on her way somewhere else but had “randomly” turned off onto the little road I was walking on, probably about the time I was praying, “Let me encounter the people You want me to encounter.”

Luda gave me a ride home, mainly so we could keep talking. When we pulled up to my house, I ran in to get her some of my sugar free chocolate covered banana slices and my card with my contact information on it. We hugged, and she was on her way.

OK, I have to get ready for church now. Even though there are no Russian Orthodox churches in Manistee (Yes, she is originally from Moscow.), Luda is willing to give my church a try.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for all the times you have answered my routine prayers and made my life a daily adventure. Thank You for sending me a new friend – so near, and yet from so far away! Thank You for Your perfect timing, even with two women struggling to get out – one physically, one mentally (“lol”), and our “random” meeting. Bless Luda today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Rare Share

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether is it right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4:18-20

I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook, but occasionally I find something worth sharing that hasn’t been blocked yet. Here’s one such piece that was shared recently:

Please read.

Ponder.

Heed.

Share!

“When I was in seventh grade, our teacher put on a video and told us to take notes. Ten minutes in she threw the lights on and shouted at Steven Webb Sladki, telling him he wasn’t taking notes and he should have been. But the thing was, Steve was taking notes. I saw it. We all saw it. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to stand up for Steve. A few of us choked out some words of defense but were immediately squashed. Quickly, we were all very silent. Steve was sent to the principal’s office. The teacher came back in the room and said something like “See how easy that was?” We were reading Anne Franke. I started to understand. I just thought now was a good time to share this story. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that what you see with your own eyes isn’t happening.”

We read with horror about the events of Nazi Germany, and we’d like to think if we had been there, we would have done something to resist the evil. But how many of us would have resisted the pressure from an authority figure just in a middle school classroom? Sadly, as that brilliant teacher pointed out, not many. And if we couldn’t stand up to a middle school teacher, how can we expect to have the boldness to resist an authority figure who can fire us, fine us, or arrest us?

How do we prepare to be the kind of people who can be counted on to speak up when something is happening that isn’t right? Although the Lord can give and has given timid people sudden boldness when a situation called for it, I’ve found that far more often than not, we start small. This year I have signed up to be a poll watcher on election day, to help make sure every vote is legitimate. (And, of course, I will vote, too!)

CUE THE MAMABEARS!

It’s true that baby steps can appear to have no effect on the bigger picture, but we should resist the temptation to sit on the sidelines. One baby step could inspire others to take action.

Some friends recently attended a local school board meeting to speak up about certain corruption being tolerated in the schools that they believed was harmful to the children. Although the board members appeared to turn a deaf ear to their concerns, a conversation my friends had with two mothers after the meeting resulted in both mothers’ deciding to run for positions on the school board themselves. Their one action that night started a wave of awareness and action from godly parents that I believe is going to change our community.

What are some other “baby steps” we can take? Let me know in the comments.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You warned us that the world would be against us. You prayed that we would be one with You and the Father. We know the enemy seeks to divide us and destroy us. Give us the courage to stand up for one another and for what we know to be true. Help us to be Your witnesses and never to let anyone rob us of our faith. May we be like the disciples who declared in the face of opposition, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Grow us into disciples willing to lay down our lives for one another and for You, in Your name. Amen.

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

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.

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

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. – I Corinthians 1:27

My life’s ambition is to be used by God, and I believe that has indeed happened throughout my life. But I’m afraid the above verse summarizes the way He’s used me more often than not, and I suppose I have to be okay with it.

At least it make some good stories …

Yesterday I began the story of something scary, pleasantly surprising, and delightful that happened to me on a road trip that was supposed to be uneventful.

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

I had prayed earlier for (actually, thanked the Lord for) all my needs to be met. I had been getting drowsy, but a “mishap” along the way (OK, I had an accident.) woke me up sufficiently to keep me awake the rest of the day. I had also prayed earlier that the Lord would send me where He wanted me to go and that I would encounter the people He wanted me to encounter and speak the words He wanted me to speak. (That’s what “having my feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace” looks like to me. – Ephesians 6:15) I was about to see that prayer answered, too. Earnestly hoping that answer wouldn’t involve a lot of humiliation and expense for me, I was now praying for a nice (and honest) repair person who wouldn’t exaggerate the damage to my car and add a bunch of extra charges for some made-up problems. (Speaking of problems, how did I get so cynical?).

As I pulled into the shop, a friendly young man outside stepped over to my car and asked, “How ya doin’ today?”

“I’m not sure,” I confessed, then proceeded to tell him what had happened.

“I don’t work here,” he said, “but somebody’ll come help you in a minute.”

I was off to a great start. (*eye roll*)

Another young man (this time an employee) asked me why I was there, and I explained again. I had braced myself for a long wait, but was pleasantly surprised when he said, “Come on inside and have a seat, we’ll take a look at it.”

Before I knew it, my new baby was up on the lift, and a few minutes later the man came back and said, “Well, you lucked out.”

Before I’d had time to think of a response, my automatic answer popped out: “I don’t believe in luck.”

He smiled knowingly and rephrased his answer: “Somebody was looking out for you.”

“He always has,” I agreed.

I was told the car was perfectly safe to drive. The damage was all “cosmetic,” which seemed odd to me, because my car looked fine. I asked who’d ever see these “cosmetic” flaws, and he said just anyone who has the car on a lift and is looking at the underside. He led me under the car and showed me where there were a few scratches (He had to point them out to me, they were so subtle.). But as it turned out, the sheet of blue plastic lying on the ground had been mine. The man seemed to be implying that this veneer was mostly for cosmetic purposes. (It sounded like whoever decided to put it there was related to the dentist who took an extra ten minutes to polish the coffee stains off the back of my bottom front teeth. *another eye roll*) I asked if I should replace the parts that had been ripped off, and he opined that it wasn’t necessary.

Being a shy person that likes to keep my faith private (In your dreams, people.), I told him about my prayer for an honest mechanic, and that the Lord had answered my prayer.

I asked him if he was a Christian, and no surprise, he said he was. I was so relieved about the car and so delighted (though not surprised) at the answer to my prayer, I blurted, “Can I hug you?” He said, “sure” and got a motherly hug.

I asked him if he or his wife or kids liked to read books, and he said yes, they do! He asked why, and I told him I was an author and would love to give him a copy of one of my books. He asked what I wrote about, and I told him. As soon as my car was off the lift, I got out a copy of BARRIERS (So, if prayers are so powerful, how come mine don’t get answered?) When I went inside with him to pay for the diagnosis, he said there was no charge – another blessing! I got his name (Kevin) and I wrote him a note inside the book, putting into writing this time that he was an answer to prayer. We exchanged a few “God stories,” including one about his miraculous healing from a stroke – at the age of 25! He hadn’t been expected to live through the night, but he had been raised up more than just a casual believer. He told me a little about his kids. The oldest is a good age for reading my trilogy, so he might contact me later about ordering a set for a Christmas gift. Since his children are in a Christian school, there was also talk about getting my books into the school library …

It would seem that whatever dumb thing I did with the car didn’t stop God from working. In fact, as I told Kevin, He seems to use my blunders. (Long time readers of this blog have read about a few of them.) But when I expressed embarrassment, his reply was an emphatic “Hey, you’re okay, that’s all that matters!” He sounded like a relieved son talking to his mom. Or grandmother.

… Grandmother, mom, sister, whatever. I love being in God’s family.

Father, thank You for the privilege of being Your child. I confess that I often feel like a child, wondering when I’ll “have it all together.” Whether I ever do, or whether I remain a constant reminder of the extent of Your grace, today I yield my life to You once again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

NOTE: Tomorrow I’ll post another serendipity moment loosely related to this episode.