First Church of God

It’s almost 6am, and I’m heading out the door for some early morning basketball.  Usually I get all into basketball and forget my focus on praying for people.  Today I am determined to follow through on this experiment (I haven’t done so well with it lately).  I’m on it as soon as I pull into the parking lot;  praying for Bill as he sits in his car.  John is 20 feet behind me as I walk in the door, so I wait and pray for him and talk as we walk into the gym.  While stretching and warming up I’m praying for all the guys.  We get started playing, and still I’m not forgetting to pray.  After 10 minutes I sub out and instead of shooting by myself I go stand next to Trevor and talk with him while secretly praying for him too.    

Being present with people is a challenge for me as an introvert.  Most people don’t know that about me because I’m a pastor and being with people is a big part of what I do.  While shooting hoops or shopping for groceries, it seems to be my natural tendency to retreat from people.

So here I am towards the end of the day in the video store, and two shelves over is someone I know.  My excuse as I turn to move in the other direction is that it’s my day off.  But then I remember to pray for her, and as I pray for her I discover a genuine desire to connect.  So instead, I make a move in her direction and we end up talking.  This leads to a surprisingly emotional conversation in which she shares some deep concerns to the point of tears (yes, in the middle of Family Video).  I sense God’s presence in our time together, and as I walk out with a movie I’m convinced I just experienced a divinely arranged appointment.  Lord, bring me more.