I Saw God at Pizza Hut
Sometimes God just wants me to listen to what someone is going through and not try to fix it. And it is so very tempting to try to fix things in people's lives. That's not always our job though. This is not to say that we ignore the needs of those around us. God help us if we do that.
My supervisor told me that at the end of each day he goes back over it, examining it theologically. What it boils down to for him is where did he see God throughout the day? That is what it means to think theologically. Where is God?
Pr. Larry, my supervisor, keeps reminding me that we know where we expect to find God: church, in the fellowship of other Christians, the love of family, in a beautiful sunset, in the mountains, lake, or some other beauty in nature. Sometimes it's through my dog or cat that I see God's love.
Do we expect to find God when we go out to dinner with our friends or family--especially in a place where we don't know many people? That was our experience tonight. We were at Pizza Hut and I just happened to glance over to one of the other tables and saw a little boy with a woman. I thought he looked like one of the children at my internship site, Grace Lutheran Church, Petersburg, WV. We had been there for a while and hadn't seen anyone we knew, so I was surprised. When the little guy saw me, he started waving. I chatted with him and his grandmother for a while. It was a good connection and I was made aware of an issue needing prayer.
Have you been seeing God in unexpected places and unanticipated ways? Let's open ourselves to the wondrous possibilities God has in store for us. For me, this prayer says it all:
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ("Evening Prayer, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 317)Google picture
