Sunday, October 31, 2010

divine appointment at the preschool desk

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:11-13, ESV).

I worked my volunteer job at church this morning. I'm the preschool check-in lady. That may not sound very important to you, but it is the open door that the Lord has given me to be faithful to do. Each Sunday morning, I arrive at about 9am and check in new preschoolers who come to our church. I usually leave at about 11am to go to the worship service. The church is quite large and just to give you an idea, we run about 700 preschoolers (birth through kindergarten) on a Sunday. It is quite a busy place and where I sit is also the "problem-solving headquarters" for all that is happening behind the scenes. I have to admit that I am not in charge but can problem-solve as need be. It is a perfect fit for me in this busy season when I am gone on numerous trips since it doesn't take any advance preparation (on my part - obviously there are hundreds of workers who do massive amounts of preparation!).

The best part about my job is that I get to meet newcomers to the church. You would not believe how many new parents come to church for the first time! I have gotten to share with many parents and grandparents about the love of Jesus and pray with them over things like broken relationships (separations, divorces, etc), special family needs, and lost family members. I have seen them walk up and burst into tears, seen them filled with joy over their newborn, and watched many a grandparent try to deal with armloads of young ones. Almost every week, I see someone that I know was encouraged or settled during a hectic morning.

This morning was another crazy one - but God granted a divine appointment right in the middle of it. I won't tell you all the confusion but there was a lot. God provided a moment for me to pray with a young mom who had never openly confessed her faith. I shared with her the gospel message and started with Jeremiah 29:11-13. She told me it was a sign. Yes, it was! It was a huge sign that God had led her there, was helping her to understand her new found faith, and to understand what had happened and what to do next. I promised you that I was more blessed than she was!

When we seek Him, we find Him! When we seek to lead others to Him, He uses us! What are His plans for you? How are you serving Him? Be faithful in the little things and He will show you great and mighty things! Let's make a fresh commitment for Him to use us to share the love of the Lord with those who are seeking Him!