I'm sure that almost everyone of us received that most ubiquitous of modern Christmas gifts; the GIFT CARD. I only got one this year, and what a wonderful gift it was! Little did I know that it would be more than a simple gift, but it would be used to fulfill a divine appointment. I know people give gift cards because they THINK they are safer than cash, but actually they aren't, as proven by a recent apprehension of a porch pirate who had numerous gift cards in his wallet at his arrest. Still, they are something more than just sticking cash in a card and mailing it off.
The day after Christmas I took my card down to our nearest home improvement store in the hopes of buying a tool. Yep, that's what I do. Nope, I couldn't find anything that appealed to me. I walked around the store for at least an hour, but every time I reached for something I couldn't make myself buy it. So, I decided to ask the fetching Mrs. Bragg if she wanted to go to Branson, Missouri to eat at my favorite burger joint, and shop at one of our favorite stores. She said that would be great because she wanted to go to the big bookstore in town and look for a book she'd heard about on the radio. (She didn't know that I'd already ordered it online.) So, off we went. Nothing spectacularly eventful, no words from Holy Spirit saying; "GO TO BRANSON! I have a divine appointment for you!" We were just going to fill our bellies, and spend a few dollars.
When we were about halfway there, one of Glenda's co-workers called and said that they'd just transported her husband to the hospital in Branson for a Cath on his heart. Her co-worker also explained that her husband would be transferred to the hospital in Springfield the next day. I WASN'T PRIVY TO THIS INFORMATION TILL LATER. Glenda and I went to a couple of places to shop and had a great hamburger. It was dark now, and being 64 years old, with aging vision, I don't like to travel the road from Branson to Harrison at night due to all the deer. I can't see them quick enough to react. Still, Glenda wanted to go to the bookstore, so I obliged even though I'd already bought her the book she was wanting. She didn't know that, and I was disappointed that it wouldn't be a surprise. After about ten minutes of searching, she found it. At that point I told her I'd already bought it. How was I to know a secular bookstore would have a truly inspiring commentary on the book of Genesis? Then she turned to me and said she wanted to buy a bible for her co-worker to read while staying at the hospital. (Sounded good to me.) She found the perfect bible, went up front and found out it was half price. YAY!!!!! This was turning out to be an awesome night. By this time I knew I was going to be going to the hospital to visit her co-worker. I've only met her a couple of times, so being the introvert that I am, I am as nervous as a cat...well you know. Anyway, we go up to the room and find her husband sitting up, but looking frightened. I look over at the heart monitor and can tell he's in A-Fib. I know what it looks like because I sometimes go into A-Fib and have since I was a young man. They'd just told him before we'd come in the door that if he didn't come out of A-Fib that they were going to have to shock him. (You know the paddle things where everyone yells 'clear!' I don't care who you are, just the thought of someone juicing you with electricity makes your skin crawl.
We visit and make niceties, and soon it's time to go. Glenda asks the husband if she can pray for him. He says yes and we're off to the races. This is why I believe my fetching bride works in a hospital in the first place. Not only does she care about people, but she is able to be Holy Spirit's vessel for touching people's lives when they need Him the most.
After we pray, we quickly depart and head home. As we are about to get back to town Glenda's friend texts her to let her know that after we left, her husband's A-Fib stopped and he was able to relax. They wouldn't have to jolt him. Which is exactly what Glenda prayed for.
Often times we find God moving through us when we didn't even expect it. Like Moses tending his father-in-law's sheep, we can meet God at times when we least expect Him. A trip to the store, a restaurant, or even to another town can be an adventure of faith. Sometimes we want God to speak to us audibly before we step out the door, but He's just glad we stepped out the door. Humble, even common everyday occurrences can be the springboard for divine appointments. The signs were there for me to read all day. Everything pointed to something happening beyond myself including the inability to spend the money I'd received, the desire to travel to another town to eat, and most of all the desire to do what my wife wanted instead of what I wanted. If Glenda hadn't wanted that book, we probably wouldn't have gone at all. She'd worked all day, and really didn't feel like going. She had no deep spiritual plan for the evening, but God did.
This is how God takes care of us. This is how He shows us we are more valuable than sparrows. Yes, He cares for the sparrows, but he cares more for us. He saw a scared woman and her husband in a hospital room contemplating a bleak future and spoke peace into the situation through people who din't even know He was going to use them for that. HOW COOL IS THAT? Like the song says; If his eye is on the sparrow, I KNOW his eye is on me.
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