There are times it is obvious that the Lord crafts circumstances to puts us in the right place at the right time. That happened to me last week at Smith's grocery store. I prefer to do my shopping mid morning when it is less crowded, but for one reason or another, wound up not arriving at Smith's until after 11. I had barely begun shopping when I noticed a friend who had attended our church for a time. She and her husband live 30 miles from Kalispell, but their local church was having problems at the time, so they drove in to attend Central Bible. Gloria broke her shoulder skiing and had several unsuccessful surgeries to repair it during the time they attended our church, and I heard after they left that she had also broken her back. But what I noticed at the store, one gimp to another, was her limp.
So that day I became one of those annoying people who stop for a long grocery-cart,
heart-to-heart in an inconvenient corner of a busy store. Gloria
had been in town for a second opinion on an upcoming surgery for her
torn Achilles tendon. The doctor she consulted was actually the partner
of the one who did my ankle surgery in May. Between our shoulders and our feet we had a lot to talk about, but the reason for
which the Lord put us together was that she would need a knee scooter
for 5 weeks following surgery. However, not having had my morning coffee
before heading out, I was telling her where to get one instead of
offering her the one sitting idle in our guest room until she flat out asked if she could borrow it. Of
course she was welcome to it, and I felt ridiculous for not having offered it myself. She will pick it up when she comes for her pre-op appointments at the end of the month.
I am thankful God was able to use clueless (caffeine-less) Connie once again. I have had a couple other times recently when I got to the grocery store later than I wanted, but just in time for a basket full of newly discounted items to be put out, and finding good bargains excites me even more than scoring one of those coveted little grocery carts to shop with. I am trying to remember that God has a plan even in the small details of life. And if I would bother to pray about such things, I could relax and trust His timing instead of stewing because my schedule is disrupted. As in Jesus' earthly ministry, sometimes the Lord leads us into a crowd for one person, someone we can help just by letting Him put us in the right place, at the right time.
