Monday, July 27, 2009

Surprising Interruption

I'm at work...and I should be working, but I just had to share this moment. One thing that I equally love and hate is the fact that I'm often interrupted here at the church. The truth is that the interruptions are almost always gifts from the Lord, but my response to the interruptions is dependent on whether or not I'm in people mode or task mode...whether or not I want to be selfish or actually "be a minister." Anyways, today has been a little rough for me. I got sick after lunch (Amoeba Allen didn't really love the bar-b-que that I had)...and I knew that I would be up here until at least 7pm working.

So, I went home for a couple of hours this afternoon to rest & get my stomach somewhat settled. I was driving back to work around 4pm begrudging the fact that I had to come back, and just basically telling God that I just would like to feel better. When I'm in these moods the last thing I want to do is smile & be nice to people - that's just the truth.

But as soon as I walked through the doors I heard a lady say, "Hi Paige, you could help me!" I turned to look at her and vaguely remembered that I met her 3 weeks ago. I was wracking my brain to retrieve her name, but I was unsure so I just plastered on the smile & said hi. She was standing there in the foyer holding a bottle of olive oil & she asked if we could go somewhere to talk.

I brough her upstairs to my office, and as I looked at "Crystal" (I remembered her name) it was obvious that she has not had an easy life. She began to tell me her story - a former meth addict for 25 years who has been sober for the last 2 years. She moved from Arkansas, and she said she had a weird request. She pointed to the bottle of oil & asked if I would pray over it. She explained that she is living with her in-laws who have addictions & after fighting for the last few months for their freedom...she said, "I just can't do it anymore." However, she said that God told her that He would help her fight...and so her plan was to anoint the house that night & ask God to use that oil to break bondages & addictions.

The more I talked to "Crystal", the more I realized I was sitting with someone courageous & actually living "the Christian life." Yes, there she sat without a bra & smelling of cigarette smoke, but there she sat willing to fight for her family's freedom! She is living it - she is fighting for her own faith - and she is winning.

I got a couple of other people to pray with us over the oil...and it was powerful - mostly because we all saw her faith & therefore knew that God would use this - He will use her...

So, I'm thankful for my interruption. I'm thankful that I saw someone today who was giving her all to live the life Jesus is showing her...I realized that today's interruption was the reminder I needed to get my focus off of how I'm feeling & to more fully live the life He intends for me.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

Fantastic moment! Made me a little teary. (of course it did)

And little Amoeba Allen can't go through life hating bar-b-que....we must figure out an option to end that quickly!

Grey Sky said...

If you're still in contact with 'Crystal', you might let her know that Tech has recovery meetings and support groups that are open to the public. She may not be interested but it's good to know available options.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...