Today was not exactly a good day. I may not have children playing ball in the house but I do have Kipper, my rambunctious German short-haired pointer. Her energy definitely overflows her dog bowl and today was no different.
As I am working from home, I see her pacing the floor, stalking a small object, and then springing into action. I think to myself, What is she trying to catch? And then I see it. A fly.
My eyes divert back to my computer screen until I hear a crash. I walk into the next room and see Kipper’s eyes, telling half of the story.
Guilty! I question my puppy thinking she can answer and then survey the room.
Ugh! A cracked window!
I roll my eyes. Great! I walk back to my computer and quickly Google, window repair.
Within an hour, a glass repair man arrives, an estimate is received, and then a story.
“Lisa, you were so nice to work with. I am so thankful that God brought me to your house today. You see, I have six children and fifteen grandchildren. One was just born the other day. Do you want to see him?”
He scrolled through his phone and proudly showed me. “This is Samuel, named after the prophet.” He continued on, “Truthfully I don’t want to be doing this. I want to be a pastor, administer and pray for those with health concerns.”
I responded,”If that is your desire, God will honor it. It’s Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.(ESV)'”
The man openly started crying and then he grabbed my hand, and started praying, “Thank you God for Lisa. Please Jesus, I want to be a Pastor…”
The prayer was over. He gave me hug and headed out the door; leaving both of our hearts cracked open.
It has been four years that I became sick with Lyme disease. I have tried to stay patient and daily stay in the joy but the last few weeks seem like a long, drawn-out Chicago Winter, filled with endless days, weeks and months of snow, gray, and bitter cold with no sunshine in sight.
But just like Groundhog Day, after a long Winter spent in a cave; this past week I saw some light. Yes, a new doctor.
She reviewed my new labs and uncovered some hidden new facts to work with.
Sitting in her office, I felt like a bursting daffodil popping through a light Spring snow as I lowered my chin and said, “I WILL get better. God loves me. He sees me. He will heal me.”
She responded, “Oh, Yes, Lisa. I love your faith. I am a believer too.”
My lips sealed tight. “Ugh! My faith is all I have… My friends and my church in Chicago have all been praying for you ; let my doctor have wisdom.”
I saw her face become flush.” Wow, I am so grateful for you.”
My eyes watered, ” No, I am SO grateful for you.”
She walked me towards the door and hugged me .
I looked at her with soft eyes and said, ” I love that you hugged me .”
“I love hugs too, Lisa. First I will take care of your health and then I’ll help you with the husband.”
I backed away, cocked my head, and asked, “The husband?”
“Yes, the husband.”
I walked outside and made my to my car and questioned, Why did she say, the husband?
And then tonight, as I walked my neighborhood I saw a quaint hotel setting up for a beautiful outdoor wedding.
I wandered through the white chairs, bookmarked with lavender and ivy. Wow, simply beautiful.
As I a strolled through the adjacent garden, with tables adorned with white linens and peonies, I looked up the sun, Maybe this was why I moved to Santa Barbara … health and who knows maybe a husband?
I felt the wind whisper … IT IS COMING! Health and a Husband.
I feel it. I know it. Patience.
God’s timing is perfect. He has the plan.
“Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble and prayerful always.”
This evening,as I walked the beach,I thought, “Wow, I can’t believe a year ago I put an offer on a house to move here.”
A quiet smile came over me as I surveyed the stretch of sand. I looked up at the clouds and asked “Why did you bring me here, God? Why Santa Barbara?”
I thought of my neighbor Heidi.She said, “Lisa, why do you have to have a purpose for being here? After everything you have been through, maybe God just wants to bless you. Maybe this is just for you to enjoy.”
Later that night,as I was dragging the garbage cans to the curb,a neighbor asked,”How was your day?”
“ Fine.” I quipped. “ How was yours?”
She walked closer to me with her head hanging low, “I lost my job.”
My heart sank. I knew she was a single mom and had heard she just battled cancer.
I walked over and hugged her.
I told her that I knew her story and then shared my own. Then I asked if I could pray over her. I wrapped my arms tight around her and poured out my heart, begging God for mercy.
Moments later, she wiped her tears and said ,”I don’t know why I lost my faith in God but thank you for praying with me. Lisa, I’m so happy you are my neighbor.”
I walked away and thought, “Why me? I have spent a lifetime asking “why me” for the bad stuff; why am I questioning the good stuff, too?”
As I sat on my front deck, I thought about what Pastor Greg said to me years ago as I was leaving Illinois and moving to California and questioning the plan .
I remember asking,”How will I know that this is the right thing?”
With a gentle sincerity he offered,”Don’t worry.Don’t question the plan. God will use you where you are – you just have to let him.”
He was right and so was Heide.
Maybe God wanted to both use me here and bless me,by bringing me here. I just need to let go, stop questioning the why, and enjoy.
As I watched the sunset, I saw the beach in front me and a life with a purpose, to serve the one in front of me… and then heard the whisper “…or maybe just serve the next door neighbor .”
Moving here was HIS plan.
Are you open to surrender and wait for the best plan?
What is your heart whispering to you?
Live in the joy.Live with purpose. Live your best life.
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Kipper, looks back at me as if to say,”Come on. Time for the beach.”
She knows the afternoon routine and doesn’t want to wait. Within minutes, my companion is buckled to my left and my Jeep is in drive but then a oil change light illuminated.
My eyes shifted to my left. Jiffy Lube.
“Sorry, Kipper. The Beach can wait.”
I pull in Jiffy Lube.Hand the attendant my keys, and Kipper and I walk to a grassy area nearby.
A few minutes pass and a young man joins us.
“Nice looking dog .What kind is it?”
“German Shorthaired Pointer.”
“It kinda reminds me of my girlfriend’s dog. She has a Weinheimer.”
“They’re cousins. Both hunting dogs.”
A baseball cap lowered, ” I am really gonna miss her dog.”
I studied the fresh face. “The dog or the girl?”
His head sunk.” Long distance relationships can work, can’t they?… I mean with FaceTime and texting …”
I sealed my lips in a soft smile.”Ya, it’s not like when I was your age. I had to write a letter and wait a week for HOPEFULLY a response.”
His chin raised. “Ya. It can work.”
He paused and I saw him studying my wrinkles as he asked,”…but what happens if our beliefs don’t match?”
I cocked my straw hat at the sky Really God, the faith question at Jiffy Lube?
I stared at the white eyes of his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I am a Christian and want to marry a Christian. She isn’t. Can she change?”
My mouth twitched.” Umm, truthfully I don’t want to influence you but I was married…Have two great kids, about your age, from the marriage but we didn’t share the faith.”
His eyes seemed to study my wrinkles further.” So you weren’t equally- yoked?”
He took off his cap and combed his fingers through his hair and shook his head in defeat.”We aren’t equally-yoked either.”
“I am sorry. I have been single for fifteen years. I am waiting for someone who shares my faith.”
He smirked.” Your Boaz.”
I giggled.” Yes, I’m waiting for my Boaz.”
He put his cap back on.” As you should.”
I walked away. An oil change? Or a call for change?
What about you? Are you waiting for change or should you ?
As for me,I will wait for the Whisper Within.
“But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” Romans 8:25
Happy Independence Day! Are you taking advantage of your freedom?
Happy Fourth of July. As I walked by flag-adorned lawns this morning, my thoughts brought me back to our forefathers. They fought for independence and to not be held hostage to England. They wanted a fresh start, to escape. My mind jumped like a cricket on the grass as I recalled a time I wanted to escape.
This was fifteen years ago:
As a single mom,with money being tight, the kids and I rarely ever ate out. But tonight I did not have the energy to cook, so I took the easy way out for a change and ordered a pizza. Parking the car in front of Jake’s Pizza Parlor, it should have been a routine pick-up, but it was anything but routine. Walking in with Jake and Tarah, looking at the cashier, I said, “Hi. I’m picking up our pizza.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Then I saw it on the wall. As the man walked to the back of the store, I saw it clear as day—a flyer that read:
“ John, a thirty-seven-year-old police detective, is paralyzed from the waist down after a February snowmobile accident in Wisconsin. He is a fourteen year veteran of the department, battles escalating medical costs from his permanent spinal cord injury.
On April 6th, a benefit will be held.
Smack dab in the middle of the flyer was John’s picture in black and white. As the pizza guy laid the pizza on the counter, Jake, tugged at my jeans and pointed at the flyer, and asked, “Mommy, why’s Daddy’s picture on the wall?”
Suddenly, I lost my appetite.
As I was fumbling through my purse trying to pull out my wallet, I caught the pizza guy looking at me, dumbfounded. His face was stone cold. He glanced down at receipt outside the pizza box, then looked up at me.
Jake always demanding answers to his questions. He tugged at my jacket and once again asked, this time a little louder, “Mommy, why’s Daddy’s picture up there?”
The pizza guy looked at the picture then into my eyes. I did not say a word. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes ever so briefly. Looking down at Jake, then at me, almost right through me, his eyes offered condolences. He then pleaded, “Please just take the pizza. It’s on us.”
I did not know what to say except the obvious, “Thanks.”
By nature, I don’t play needy, but needy was being dished my way and it was a very deep dish, indeed.
Back then, I felt held hostage to my life in Schaumburg. I needed to escape. I hated that my life, my story, was plastered around town. The only escape I could afford as a single mom, was a short ride around the bend to South Haven, Michigan. In Michigan, my monkeys and I were free and happy.
That was my story but I like our forefathers I opted for a different ending. I decided to dump the bitter “tea” and start drinking coffee. Are you free or are you held hostage to your “England” and to your past? Is it time to dump the tea and start drinking coffee?
Don’t wait until you hear the loud boom of fireworks to claim your freedom. God’s loudest directions are through his whispers. What is God whispering to you? Believe and trust the Whisper Within.
“Hello ABC Investments. This is Jimmy, can I help you?”
I cleared a frog in my throat. “Yes, I need you to look up my client’s account. Here’s the number.”
I stared at my computer, waiting for answers. “So, how are you today?”
“I am fine. Ah, here’s the account you needed. The client is in Illinois but your office is in California…”
“Yeah, I moved here about two years ago.”
“Do you ever get homesick?” He asked.
My lashes fell and I bit my bottom lip. Mom. I miss my mom.
I murmured back, “Ya, funny you should ask. I miss my mom. She’s been quarantined in the ICU.”
“Oh, so sorry. I know how that hurts. My mom passed about a year ago. It still hurts.” He said solemnly.
My lips sealed like an envelope and then parted. “Aww I am so sorry about your mom. Can I ask why did you ask me if I was homesick?”
“I don’t know…something pushed me. Most investment reps just quickly ask about a transaction but you asked how I was, so I reciprocated.”
I stared at the ceiling. Really God? Was this you ? Did you orchestrate the call?
“Well, I want to thank you for asking. My mom is moving to rehab and is doing better. Thank you for caring. I feel at peace.”
Privately I gave him my information and we connected on Facebook that evening. I felt that night that God sent me my own guardian angel.
As I walked the beach this evening, I reflected on that call. In the time it took for the sun to kiss the day goodnight, Jimmy made a difference. He took a moment. He listened. He responded.
“Draw close to God and he will draw close to you.” James 4:8
Thank you, Jimmy for listening to the Whisper Within. Can you listen to your Whisper Within?
