God speaks in parking lots.

Oh yes indeed-y He does.

How do I know this, you ask?

Because He spoke to me in the church parking lot just yesterday. And, here is the rest of the story...

It was a great weekend. Saturday was spent volunteering for a JOY FM radio station "Key To The City Walk" where $42,000+ was raised for their need. Five hours outside in below freezing temps & a slight breeze that just bit into any exposed skin. Five hours of whooping & howlering over seeing the donations come in & knowing every dollar was one dollar closer to seeing JOY FM's chance to reach a larger listening area for Christ.

Sunday I woke up ready to go worship and hear God's word. Our small group Bible study was on the topic of "The Battle Of The Mind". The gist of it was all about having a "mind set" and how that is both a noun & a verb. As a christian I have the mind set (noun) of Christ dwelling in me through the presence of the Holy Spirit. However, everyday I am faced with choices to make that are either right vs. wrong----Godly vs. worldly. It is in those times I have to call upon that "mind set" and put it into action (verb). It was a very good study.

However, something happened (the "who-what-where-why" is not important) and I became frustrated. Frustrated to the point of just wanting to go home and skip worship. The battle of my mind began. I could just picture on one shoulder an angel of the Lord and on the other a demon from the pits of hell and they were battling for my mind. The battle ended when I walked out the doors and entered my car to go home. Or did it? I continued to struggle with knowing my word of the year is REMAIN. I sat there.

Next, as I sat in my car in the parking lot of the church, I checked my phone and saw a text message from my BFF who was home recovering from pneumonia. The message read "Are you going to 10:55 service"? OUCH!!!!!!!!!! The battle was in full swing again.

RUN.....REMAIN.....RUN.....REMAIN.....RUN.....REMAIN.

I shut off my car, grabbed my purse and walked back in through the same doors I had just walked through moments before. I sat down in the pew I usually sit in and I proceeded to reply to my friend: "yes, i am here". Thinking maybe she decided to try to make it for worship I looked around but didn't see her. Oh well. The music began.....time to worship.

Dr. Hufty's message was amazing, as usual. However, I was expecting something in the message to really jump out at me and make me go "yep, that is why I was supposed to remain". That didn't happen. That's okay.....it's never a BAD thing to be in church hearing God's word. As Dr. Hufty closed in prayer before the time of offering he said "God has spoken today....through worship.....through His word.....He has even spoken in the parking lot I imagine" I nearly fell over when he said that. And I again wondered "so why God? why did you have me remain if I don't feel as though I really gleaned any new, amazing concept of you?" At that moment I felt a still, small voice simply say "you were just supposed to REMAIN".

okay.

Service ended and I left for the second time that morning. This time with an entirely different outlook. I entered my car and immediately called my BFF to tell her what had happened. I knew she had probably been listening to the online live-stream of the sermon since she was home sick. When asked if she heard Dr Hufty's remark about God speaking to us in the parking lot she replied, yes. I proceeded to tell her the whole story I just shared above. This is her reply:

Helen....I was home doing what I believe I was supposed to be doing....recouperating. However, I still felt like something was missing after being away from church for 2 weeks now. While I have been in the word daily.....praying continually, there is something missing and I know it is being at church for corporate worship and serving God. She continued....I was telling God how much I want to be better so I can go back to church where I feel like He can use me.

And in that moment, she realized He had used her....even from her sick-bed, He used her. Her text to me.....a text I thought was because she might be coming to church after all and I didn't want her to sit alone. When in fact she just needed me to carry out a task for her (but I didn't know that because she didn't say that in the text).

There was the other reason I was suppose to REMAIN....so Sheila could see how God can still use her.

Isn't God so cool??? I think so :)

xoxoxoxo

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