God Moment

by Kay Heitsch 

As I put on my walking shoes and sunglasses, I didn't know I was about to meet a new friend. Every morning I enjoyed going out for a walk in my neighborhood after spending time with the Lord. Somewhere in my devotional time, I always ask the Lord to help me touch someone with His love during that day. It wasn't sunny this day when I put my sunglasses on to go out for my daily walk. I didn't wear sunglasses because of the sun, anyway. I wore the sunglasses because I wear contact lens and the wind dries out my contacts. 

As I was walking in my usual fast manner, I saw another woman up ahead. It wasn't very often that anyone was out walking, so I was surprised to see her. I noticed that she also was wearing sunglasses. Since it was cloudy, I said, "I see you're wearing sunglasses too, even though it isn't sunny." In a quiet voice, she replied, "I'm crying behind mine." WHOA, I wasn't expecting that! I stopped right in my tracks. I don't remember what I said, but I found out that Julie* was going through a divorce. This divorce process was an excruciating time for her. 

My husband, Bill, had just lost his job of 27 years. This was a time of loss for me, too. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Julie and I started to meet every day to walk. We decided that we would look for ways that the Lord was leading us and showing us His love each day. When we would meet to walk, we would share these "God moments." 

One day Julie shared the following "God Moment" with me. Julie had three teenage daughters. They were very active in sports. Julie would attend their sporting events, and so would her soon-to-be ex-husband, Tom*. One night after one of the basketball games, Julie walked to the gym door to leave. She looked out the door, and she could see that it was raining hard, and her umbrella was in the van. She started to walk to her van without her umbrella. The rain was cold as it hit her face. Julie pulled her coat around herself, trying to stay warm. All of a sudden, a car went whizzing by, splashing water from a puddle all over her. She looked up and saw that the driver of the car was Tom. He never even stopped to offer her a lift to her car. 

Thoughts of the past came to her mind. How well she remembered Tom picking her up at the door of the gym. She remembered their high school years when they were sweethearts. How had it come to this? When Julie finally reached the van, she looked at the gas gauge. She could see that she was low on gas. The gas gauge wasn't any lower than Julie felt that night. She felt unloved. Then she asked, "Lord, do you love me? If You still love me, give me a sign." Julie pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the nearest gas station. She pulled up to the gas pump. As she opened the door of the van and put her foot on the ground to get out, she looked down. There on the dirty, wet pavement was a beautiful pink rosary. Julie picked the rosary up and held it to her chest. Here was her "sign" that the Lord did care and loved her. 

Julie shared this "God Moment" with me the next day when we walked. I was awestruck by how the Lord used this rosary to express His love for her. Julie was a Catholic, and I was a Protestant. This experience taught me that God does know each of us personally. He knew that a rosary would bring comfort to Julie, right when she needed it most. God gave her a "sign" and used a rosary to do it, a "sign" that she would recognize. The Bible says in Matthew 10:30, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." If God knows the number of hairs on our heads, He certainly knows how to show us His love when we need it. 

* Names have been changed.