The Adventure

I had gone out to dinner with friends. After we finished, they headed home. I wasn't tired so I decided to go to the city.

I asked God to take me on an adventure....and He did.

***********************************************************

I was driving, with no real destination in mind, when I saw bright lights. As I got closer, I realized they were lights from a football field. I fondly remember my high school football-watching-marching-band-playing days so I decided to go investigate. As I drove by, I noticed the band lined up on the side of the field and I couldn't resist watching and listening to them so I parked my car and went in. I decided to sit on the home team's side, but after I climbed to the top of the stadium to stand (because the seats were all wet), I realized I was on the visitor's side. "Wrong side," I thought. But I wasn't going to climb back down and walk to the other side so I just stayed there. The band was on the field and I watched and smiled....but again thought, "Wrong side," because the band was mostly facing the home team's side, which made the music a little difficult to hear, and I, of course, was on the visitor's side. After the home team's band played, the band from the visitor's team played, too. A double treat!!

Halftime was over and the game started again. I decided to stay for just a few minutes. The visitor's team wasn't doing so well. Their score was 0. The home team had 20 or 30 something. (Ok...I admit I'm not good at remembering scores!! But the home team was definitely outscoring the visitor's team!) I started praying for the visiting team...that they would get a touchdown....anything...I didn't want them to go home without any points on the board. I looked around the visitor's side. Only a few people were really paying attention to the game. I noticed an older man watching with a serious, almost pained look on his face. I wondered if he was some boy's father....watching and wondering what to say to his son after the game. What do you say to someone whose team has lost a game by so very much? The people on the visitor's side continued to talk and visit....and I kept praying....for a touchdown....and that the clock would move faster! I wanted to see the game, but I also wanted to leave and I couldn't decide which I wanted more. Well, the 3rd quarter came and went....and I was still there. I looked around and prayed for the people...that they would know Jesus...that He would be with them. As I stood there, I asked God, "Does it make a difference that I'm here....does it make a difference that I'm praying for people at this game?" I realized that if I truly believed in prayer, which I whole-heartedly do, that it did make a difference that I was there and praying. I thought maybe that was my adventure, my reason that I had ended up at that game that night. Maybe someone there needed prayer.

The clock seemed to move faster in the 4th quarter...and I was glad! I thought about leaving with only a few minutes to go....but, thankfully, I stayed to the end because that's when God really showed me the reason I was there. I kept watching....and praying. With about 2 and a half minutes to go, the visitors were very close to making a touchdown. Excitement grew within me. "Please, God, let them make a touchdown! Let there be rejoicing on this side of the field!" A few plays later, the visitor's side exploded in joy!! They made a touchdown and even earned an extra point afterwards!! The score was 49 to 7. I saw some of the players from the visitor's team smiling and that made me smile. I felt happy for them that they had something to celebrate. Now the visitor's side was alive! People clapped and cheered and actually watched the game.

And it made me wonder....how many times do we sit back, involved in our own lives, not really encouraging those who need it while they're down? Do we also wait, like the people in the visitor's stand, until some worthy accomplishment comes along for someone and then get interested and give our encouragement to him or her? Wouldn't it be helpful to also give encouragement when they're down, when they're trying to find their way, when they're scrambling to make a touchdown in life instead of just waiting until the goal has already been made?

As I continued to watch the team members celebrate, one young man on the sidelines caught my eye. He was hugging the other players.....a high school boy hugging other players openly and with such love. I couldn't help watching him. He hugged several players and bent down to hug someone sitting on a bench...it even looked like he leaned over and kissed the top of his helmet! He went up to some of the men on the field....perhaps some of the coaches...and extended his hand for a handshake. I was so taken with the mature way in which he carried himself and his openness in showing how much he cared for people. Tears filled my eyes as I watched....and learned. As a Christian, shouldn't I be that open in showing love and affection to others? Shouldn't people know I'm a Christian by my love, just as the song says? I didn't know whether that young man was a Christian or not....I wanted to talk to him and ask him if he was. I imagined the conversation going something like this:

"Hey, Number 25! Good game out there! Are you a Christian?"

"Thanks! Yes, I am!"

"It shows!"

And our Christian love for others should "show" too, whether we're hugging someone or helping someone carry a bunch of packages or just sitting quietly with someone at the hospital.

I didn't actually have a chance to talk to Number 25....still don't know whether he is a Christian or not, but God used him and the others things that happened at the football game that night to teach me several things. Don't be so caught up in your own life that you forget to look around for others who need you....Encourage others when they're down, don't wait until they accomplish something wonderful before you lavish praise and encouragement on them....Let your love for others show....openly and uninhibitedly.

It was only as I was driving home that I realized I was not on the "wrong side" of the field at all. God had me exactly where He wanted me to be so that I could see the things I saw that night and learn the lessons He wanted me to learn.

He's so good that way!!

It Only Takes a Little

I was recently reading the story in the Bible about Jesus feeding five thousand people. There was a great crowd gathered that had been following Jesus. When He asked the disciples about feeding them, one of the disciples told Jesus that a boy in the crowd had five loaves of bread and two fish. Soon after that, you read that Jesus gave thanks and passed out the bread and fish to the people. They even had leftovers!

I started thinking about the boy in the story...the one who had the bread and the fish. It doesn't say that the boy wanted to keep the bread and fish for himself...it doesn't say that he didn't want to share what he had with others...it doesn't say that the child whined and complained about giving up his food....the Bible doesn't really say anything about the boy other than that he was the one who had the bread and fish. But we know that he gave it to be used because Jesus gave thanks to God for it and the disciples passed the food out to the people. And it got me thinking....the boy was willing to give the little he had....willing to let it be used....and Jesus was able to multiply it into so much more.

So it is with us....we may feel we only have a little to give....a little time, a little money, a little encouragement....we may feel that the way we serve at church or in another place is only a little job....but in Jesus' hands it can become so much more....our "little" can be a big blessing to so many.

So today....if you feel like you only have a little to give....give willingly and joyfully...because through your "little", God can bless many!

"Serve the Lord with gladness..." Psalm 100:2

Just Ask

Don't you love movies?! I do! I looked at some old movies and CDs last night at the store...browsing for something to buy. I smiled as I saw CDs of music that I used to love (If I said the names, I bet you'd smile, too...they were very popular once upon a time!) I saw movies from yesteryear displayed in bargain bins. (I bet you'd know the movies, too, if I wrote their titles!) These CDs and movies that had once brought top dollar were now discounted because love for them has waned. They're not deemed as valuable as they once were...thrown in the bargain bins to whoever would like to claim them for a discount price.

I'm so glad God's love for us doesn't wane like our love for music and movies. God's love for us remains strong....unchanging....we are always valuable to Him. We're never thrown into the "bargain bin" as if we're not as "wanted" as another.....we're never cast aside by God. We are precious to Him.

How ever you're feeling today...whatever you're going through....know that God loves you! He cares about every circumstance you're going through and every detail of your life.

He will be there for you if you ask Him to be.

Anytime.

Night or day.
Good times or bad.
Top of the world or down in the dumps.


He will be there for you always.....

....you just have to ask.


"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"....and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20