A “God Thing”

 [NAME], a beautiful woman inside and out, and I agree that our meeting each other was a “God thing” since it was a blessing neither of us could have planned.

But as I recall how I “happened” to stop by the restaurant where she works, I can only conclude that God had indeed directed my “steps” there, although my husband and I thought we were stopping there for a quick lunch based on the suggestion I’d received when I’d paused, on the spur of the moment, and said to two men working at a botanical garden we were visiting that morning, “Where’s a good place to eat lunch?”

When we arrived, [NAME] greeted us and seated us at a table bathed in soft light streaming through a big window that faced a whimsical garden—which delighted me and prompted me to grab my cell phone and start photographing as we waited for our food. When [NAME] again stopped by our table, I started a conversation with her, as is my custom, and learned that we had much in common despite differences in our ages and in life experiences.

I learned that God has placed a deep desire in her heart to write, but that she has shied away from it, for several common reasons: not enough time, not enough knowledge how to do it, not enough confidence, etc. I was able to share with her several sources that would inspire her and teach her how to become a published writer.

Our conversation was fairly brief but so deep. We’ve agreed to keep in touch with each other in order to encourage each other to do what the apostle Paul urged Timothy to do: to stir up the gift that is within you, to fan it into flame, to rekindle that gift God has placed within*—for His glory and the good of others.

Only God could have turned a simple stop for food into a stop for the soul.

* 2 Timothy 1:6