A Sunday Morning Surprise!

I woke up Sunday morning feeling a bit better after two weeks of bonding with our sofa.  Joel was not preaching anywhere so I suggested we go to a local church.  He was all for it.  He went out to blow snow and when he came back in I told him I felt strongly we were to go to St. James Lutheran, near our home.  Joel worked there as staff support at one time and we had not been back to visit in a long time.  He said, "Let's go!"  Quite a statement since he had 10 minutes to get ready before we headed out the door.  We made it to church on time.

We had barely arrived when the pastor filling in for his wife asked Joel if he would be part of a healing service they were having that morning.  An unusual occurrence in a Lutheran church, even though there is a healing service in one of the hymnals.

What a nice surprise and honor for Joel to be asked to help the pastor lay hands on people and pray.  Joel wanted me to go up with him, as we usually pray as a team, each bringing our own "gifts" as we pray.  I told Joel no, and then ended up arguing with Holy Spirit for about 15 minutes before I got up after the service started and stood with Joel to pray for people.  Obedience to Holy is very important.  You see, this is not our church, and I have this inbuilt need to please people when I am only to please God.  And being obedient to God, pleases Him greatly.  After the healing service I leaned over to Joel and said, "Now I know why we were to come here today of all days." Isn't God so good?

The whole obedience thing had me thinking about the time we were on our first big trip after my healing from Lyme.  We headed out east to a healing conference and spent a couple of weeks traveling, doing touristy things.  One friend shared with me that God wanted us to find a natural Spring and drink from it.  It went along with the many whispers from God about living water, etc.  so we searched for one along the way, but it was not until our last day of traveling that through a couple of God-incidences Joel heard about an Amish Spring outside of Shipshewana, Indiana.  He was telling his healing story to an Amish man in a gas station (yep) and he then asked the man about a spring.  We found the spring after searching for half an hour up and down country roads. It was nothing more than a pipe sticking out of the ground continually bubbling up with water....into a cattle trough.  Can I just say it took some convincing for me to drink from that spring?!  I argued with Joel and with Holy Spirit until Holy said...."I brought you hear now drink!"  I did.  Out of obedience.  I may have slipped in a prayer that I would not get parasites from the water....but I drank.  and the chronic UTI I was experiencing went away for 2 1/2 years.

Sometimes we are obedience and see results.  Other times we are obedient and don't see results.  I believe every time we are obedient to God's guidance, urging, or commands, there is a purpose behind it.  It is not always for us to know, but it is for us to listen and obey.

It was nice to be back in church today and to be back in a church where Joel had worked.....seeing some familiar faces, singing some familiar songs.  It was nice to do something we both love to do...pray for others.  God is so good.  All the time.  What a nice Sunday morning surprise!