A Divine Appointment

 Are you a believer? In God? That you were fearfully and wonderfully made? Psalm 139 says that you were. It also says He knows when you sit and when you rise up and that He is acquainted with all your ways. Verse 16; Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

    My Mother's favorite passage was the 23rd Psalm, and I do love that one too. I memorized it when I was a young child. But my favorite is Psalm 139 and speaks to my soul in a different way than all the other passages in God's Word. It tells me my Heavenly Father knows me in a way that I don't even know myself. 

    Some days I am more attuned to His presence than others. Like a radio station we lose when we are out of range, sometimes I move too far away and lose His voice and fail to hear and see what He has for me. But I was tuned in and heard His voice loud and clear at one of my recent book signings at Chick-fil-A on a Saturday morning.

    I am a self-published author of two books and a blog, A Book Unwritten. It is up to me to find a way to promote and sell my books. They are for sale on Amazon.com, but they are buried under all the other books by well known authors. But my friends, Jason and Kathryn Branch, have been gracious to allow me to come to their restaurant (their idea) for a few hours here and there and sell Her Final Gift and A Patch of Cotton. That is where I was and what I was doing on the day of my divine appointment.

    My granddaughter Ashley was with me that day. I love people and I love to talk. Sometimes it is difficult for me to keep my focus when I am signing a book and carrying on a conversation. Ashley is a great assistant. She takes their money or their debit or credit card and does the financial transaction while I do public relations. We make a great team. And later, this believing granddaughter explained to me that if my books were in bookstores I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet the people that buy my books directly from me.

    Sitting in the restaurant for several hours allows me to people watch. As they get in line to order their food they are always curious about what we are doing, but they feel awkward if we see them trying to read my sign. But then, there is always that avid reader who can see there are books on my table and they are not shy. They walk right up and want to know what the books are about. And they always ask, "you are the author?" and I reply yes, and then, "cool, or awesome, or wow I've always wanted to write a book." I've sold books to people from several states who have stopped for lunch or the evening meal as they traveled Interstate 95. My heart is always happy to know my books will be on bookshelves in Massachusetts or Maryland or in  other states up and down the eastern seaboard.

    A woman approached carrying a couple of bags of her to-go food. She was petite, alone, and at first, appeared to be in a hurry. She picked up Her Final Gift, turned it over to read what it was about and immediately put it down and with tears in her eyes said, "oh I can't read that right now." I told her I understood, that it is a difficult story to read. She moved to the other side and read the synopsis of A Patch of Cotton. That one made her cry too.

     I can't remember exactly how all of the conversation went, but I do remember she was broken with so much emotion she could barely talk. I ask her name and told her I would pray for her. She revealed a few more things to us about her situation and she was so distraught that I asked her, "would it embarrass you if we prayed for you right now?" She was so open to that and so needed to pour out her wounded heart that Ashley and I grabbed her hands and right there in a busy, fast food restaurant we went to the throne and laid out her needs to the Father. At least the ones she had shared.

    Being a single mother at one time causes me to have a connection with others who find themselves alone, whether it is a result of divorce or death that has given them that heavy role to walk. She wasn't in a hurry to leave but before she did I told her I would stay in touch. We are now Facebook friends and have exchanged phone numbers.

    You may be wondering why I felt this was a divine appointment. Her teenage son has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Inoperable. They are currently waiting for doctors to devise a treatment plan. This young man is a believer and told his mother if death is what God has for him, he is ready. 

    God puts people in our lives for a reason. Some for only moments and it is up to us sometimes to discern why. To dig a little into what is going on and to offer to pray. To join your heart to theirs and let our Father know that we see them through His eyes and that we hear their pleas to Him for healing, comfort, direction and peace that passes all understanding.

    Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities and don't miss your divine appointments! In the meantime would you pray for this young man and his mom?