Feb 22, 2017
by Patti Wethington
I serve an incredible God. This year is going by so quickly and I feel like there are so many things left unsaid. I want to take a minute in March for a quick reflection on my thankfulness and once again to share how amazing I see my God in this.
But first let me say goodbye to a dear sister, Stephanie Sholtz. Oh my word! When bad things happen how do we maintain our composure and find hope? Stephanie showed her love for God in so many ways — with JOY and confidence. She freely gave of her talents and loved without measure. I am so very sorry for the loss to this world — and yet I know that God is supreme, all knowing, all sustaining, and His plan was met in the short time Stephanie shared her life this side of Heaven. We will be together again — of this I am sure!!!
This past week I have been in transition at work and many of my friends and co-workers stop for a visit or just to share an interest in my future plans. I believe God uses this time to allow me to foster good will, share my purpose, and learn a bit more about my work friends. There is a certain Respiratory Therapist (RT) that I call “Bro” because he looks like my brother who lives in Ohio. He often passes me in the hallway but seldom do we touch on deeper matters than how work is going, what’s busy about the workday, and if he’s seen my son who also works as an RT at this facility. He’s always been the nicest gentleman and has coached nurses in clinical certifications for NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation) and ACLS (Advance Cardiac Life Support). Today was a different story and he stopped to see how I was doing personally and we shared on a completely different level.
I was interested to learn that he attends the church where my son and his family attend. He’s been an elder there for many years — I finally understand where the kindness comes from!
He listened to my story about following my calling, walking on a journey to understand what it really means to be living a “Life on Mission.” I was able to explain the role I’ve been called to and the passion I share to see God’s purpose unfold in our churches around community mission and being prepared to “touch lives for Jesus.” His genuine interest led him to share his personal life scripture with me. Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” He prayed that scripture over me as a gift to share what he has found in knowing God as our ultimate “hope” and that when we rely on God’s gifts there is Joy and Peace. In grasping the hope of Jesus, a spiritual power is supplied by none other than the Holy Spirit. Power that makes a difference in our lives! Wow! That was an exchange that I will not forget. This was a connection at a deeper level to reveal God’s presence, protection, and personal interest in my life.
My work “Bro” sent me a text later that evening to thank me for sharing with him. He reinforced the scripture and give me encouragement. How thoughtful! I sent a follow-up text and shared my life verses from Ephesians 3: 14-21, emphasizing vs. 20. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” I thanked him for his thoughts, prayers, and kindness. Then I moved my focus to getting with the tasks at hand and recoiling after a long day of work. A bit later in the evening, when I was relaxing and working through my Bible study, I reviewed my material from a program I’ve been following to read the Bible through in 365 days. I was studying day #213 and have been reading in 2 Chronicles, Romans, a bit of Psalms and Proverbs. To my amazement, God had planned to demonstrate yet one more time that His timing is perfect in all things. Today’s study included Roman 15:13. God’s timing is amazing. When I shared my experience with “Bro” on Monday, he too had been struck in wonder at God’s timing — in his personal Bible application, his verse of the day for Friday was none other than Ephesians 3:20.
How can this be that a God of the universe has the time to anticipate, plan, and execute timing such as this — to cross our paths with spiritual connection and scriptural selections of personal meaning, and put it in a scheduled printing on this date? Once again this experience confirms the hope and confidence that comes in knowing and sharing a loving God who cares about this kind of detail in our life. This is no coincidence but a reflection of a God alive, invested, available, all knowing. His timing is perfect.
