God In Action Part 1

If someone asked me if I ever interacted with God, if I ever feel him or know he is there, I would say—heck yes! There are also times when I feel distant from him and I do go through phases of feeling inadequate or unworthy. 2004 has definitely been a year for God and I. Seeing him in action, seeing how time doesn’t exist for him, seeing his planning has left me in awe (and sometimes really pissed).

Story #1
It all came out of taking God’s name in vain. Ben, my former supervisor, and I were evaluating my performance as an employee during my yearly performance review. We were laughing about something and Ben made some comment where he dropped the G.D. word. Suddenly, one of the overhead lights turned off. Ben and I looked at each other a little spooked. “See, Ben, you shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain,” I said. “You know, I really need to work on that,” Ben said. And then the light came back on. From there we discussed how Ben majored in theology and he really wanted to get back into the bible, praying, discussion…and our bible study was born.

Our first meeting was in January and we had a couple people come. It really ended up being Krissie, Ben and I, though. We would rotate to different restaurants offering happy hour. It was real cute to see us with our bibles surrounded by the half off appetizers and dollar drinks. We really got into some good discussions. We prayed. And then the unthinkable…Ben’s little brother died in March.

I went to the funeral home and met Ben’s mom and step-dad who is a pastor. I introduced myself as one of Ben’s employees, and a friend. I explained that Ben and I had started a bible study, too. His mother hugged me tight and said, “Thank you so much for doing that with him. I really think Ben has grown closer to God over the past couple of months because of the study.” In the months after Simeon’s death, our bible study became more of grief counseling. But we had an established group already, one that met every Tuesday night, even if it was just the three of us. So Ben had an outlet for his grief…and we prayed, and cried, and shared.

Since then, I wonder about God. Was he trying to prepare Ben for this tragedy? Really, Ben has been all over the place in his relationship with God, his faith weak at times and strong, too. As his life continues, though, he has yet to turn his back on God. Even when Ben was angry, he turned toward God and let him have it. I truly see Ben’s life as a testimony for the tried and grief stricken. He has brought God soooo much glory.