I was on my way to a ladies retreat last Friday when I returned a call from a stranger who had simply left her name, Debbie Frazier, and her number in my voicemail. I’d never heard the name. When she answered I identified myself and she asked if I remembered a lady named “Martha Trevors.” I responded that I could not recall her. “Well then, let me explain,” she continued.
“I have a friend, named Martha Trevors, who is an occupational therapist in Jackson and she gave me your name and number. See, you met her a couple of years ago and gave her some materials about the Bible…”
“Wait!” I said….”You mean Jacksonville, Alabama.”
“Yes!” she said. “Jacksonville. That’s it.”
Then I did remember Martha. She was the very warm and kind therapist who helped my father recover from several maladies in a rehab center two years ago. I had visited with Martha and we had talked about the scriptures and Debbie was right; I had given her some books about the Bible and some scripture-filled materials for her grandchildren.
So we made the connection and then Debbie continued. “I’m looking for a women’s Bible study group and Martha remembered that you live in Huntsville. She gave me your contact information from the books and so I was wondering if you have any studies going on right now that I could maybe link up with….”
Now, I don’t have to tell you that this is going to happen. I am blessed with amazing sisters in Him who are all too eager to help make it happen. They are already planning and praying. I do want to make a couple of points–things about which I needed to be reminded– about this random phone call. But first, just to be sure you know, let me tell you what I’m NOT taking from this experience:
- I’m not asserting, by any stretch, that I did any great thing in speaking with Martha two years ago about the Lord. I was just in the right place at the right time, due to a difficult set of circumstances, to speak to a woman who was very forthright in projecting her interest in things spiritual. She, along with that set of circumstances, made it very easy to speak to her about God.
- I’m not telling you that this study will bear fruit. We never know, in the beginning, whether or not the results will be for the eternal benefit of a soul. We always know studies will benefit the teacher eternally as she grows and as she relieves herself of the burden, once again, of sharing the gospel with someone who might otherwise never know. So I, along with those sisters who are helping me, am favored and blessed with this opportunity.
And, finally, what I AM taking from this random phone call:
- I am more convicted than ever that when we do speak to people about the Lord, He will give us opportunities. They may not be immediate, but they will come.
- The soul he has in mind may not be the one upon which you are most focused.
- Sometimes, when you believe a conversation about him has been for nought, He can do things with that very conversation that you would have never imagined.
- Sometimes, it takes a team effort to do the work he wants us to do. I could not make a Bible study group, the tool we needed this time, happen all by myself. But with sisters who are focused on heaven, it’s a happening thing!
God took me straight from this phone call to a retreat themed “Trash to Treasures; Being Reclaimed, Renewed and Repurposed for God’s Use.” We had a sort of “Show and Tell” in which we all shared items from our homes that had been rescued and repurposed. It was fun to see the old stuff that had been transformed, by creators and craftswomen, into new and useful items.
Perhaps those conversations with Martha have been repurposed for a new and even better study. But more importantly, we are praying that one day soon we can rejoice in a newly reclaimed life; one that, in the hands of THE Creator, can be renewed, redeemed, and repurposed–for His glory and, one glad day, for heaven!
