The Best Week of Our Life

A few years ago, before we moved to Haiti, my family had an amazing week that you just can’t plan. God had been working in my heart for a few weeks prior. The day of the call, the Spirit nudged me and said, “This is what I have been preparing your heart for. I want you to say ‘Yes’” but of course we are given free will and can make a different choice. I am so glad Bruce and I said “yes”.

A complete stranger needed a place to stay for a week until she could move into her rental house as her current living space was no longer available. We found out over the weekend when we were out of town. Bruce and I discussed it and discovered the Spirit had been working in both of us. We responded that she and her kids could stay with us. A friend paid for them to stay in a hotel over the weekend. We returned home early Sunday afternoon and started scurrying around the house getting ready for our visitors.

They arrived late afternoon just in time for dinner. I have to admit I was still a little nervous inviting a family into my home of whom I knew absolutely nothing about but the feeling soon subsided as everyone piled out of the car and settled into our house. We gathered around our kitchen table and got to know each other over pizza. During the week we hung out with the family, our kids played together, and had dinner together every night. They were some of the most well-behaved children we have ever met! It was SO much fun! As the week came to a close, we were all sad to part ways but happy that they could move into their own home.

I write this for three purposes:

Everyone is made in the image of God. We are all equal in God’s sight and God doesn’t play favorites. It doesn’t matter what someone’s financial status is, race, education level, career, gender, age, etc. No one is more important than anyone else. We all have a role in God’s kingdom. To give perspective, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a homeless person in Chicago (former CEO of a large company who got caught up in the fast life). He said it well, “You are only 1 step away from where I am, but I am 20 steps away from where you are.”  What matters is what is in someone’s heart. That week we were able to help a sister in Christ (we did not know she was a Christ follower when she came into our home).

Second is to encourage you to respond to the Spirit’s nudge if you aren’t doing so already. If you are, keep it up! God’s plans are so much better than ours. He may not ask you to do what we did but he has his own plans for you. God asks you to listen and follow. This does require making a choice every single day to let go of having control (yes, a big leap of faith but I would rather be where God wants me to be than anywhere else) and letting God do his work. It doesn’t mean life will be easy but it does mean he will be there with you every step of the way to help you get through it. I have been through absolutely beautiful situations and I have been through ugly situations but I have seen God turn it all into his glory in his timing. He asks us to follow. I have become more comfortable with being uncomfortable and I am now uncomfortable being comfortable. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Several people have told me that God only speaks through the Bible. Then how can you call God all powerful? I am not willing to limit God by human perspective. There any many stories in the Bible showing how God speaks in other ways. What we are required to do is to check everything against the Bible to make sure what we are hearing is from God and that requires knowing God’s Word. Nothing God says will ever go against what he has spoken in the Bible.

I encourage you to listen and see what plans God has for you. You might just be preparing to have the best week of your life!

Let go and let God.