“Pay attention to the people
God puts in your path
if you want to discern
what God is up to in your life.”
~ Henri Nouwen
What a perfect quote for me to hear at church one day that I know was a God-orchestrated moment for me. Do you take time to reflect on the people God puts in your path and how everyone in our lives is there to help us grow into the people God intends us to be? I believe we can learn lessons on this journey of life from every person we share life with. Maybe the person teaches us something to help us grow spiritually or personally, but it is also possible that the person teaches us patience or how to love our enemies. What a privilege it is to encourage one another, be there to listen and help others through the good and the bad, and to just have fun being together.
A wonderful by-product of publishing three books in three years has been meeting people who have become spiritual family to me that I otherwise would not know. God has helped me experience much growth spiritually, socially, and personally because of this ministry He has led me to. I am less of an introvert and experience the Spirit’s peace and joy while doing some speaking engagements that God has opened up the door for.
It is always interesting to see what God uses to bring people into my life with this writing ministry. I thoroughly enjoy learning people’s stories and accompanying them through the ups and downs of life. When we share our stories, I believe our lives are enriched. After thinking about a few of the people I have been able to walk closer with, I find that I am challenged to go deeper in my faith and am in awe of their positive attitudes and faith despite difficult circumstances.
My first book was released in October of 2020, and an article about it was published in December of 2020 in our diocesan newspaper. While at church one day shortly thereafter, I was surprised when an usher brought a gentleman to me, saying he wanted to meet me. He read the article and was excited to meet the author. He was happy to get a copy of the book and later bought several to share with family and friends, which has had a ripple effect of new people in my life. That day started an almost three-year friendship, despite living an hour and a half away from each other. We continue to keep in touch via phone calls, at church, or by sharing fellowship at a restaurant.
Unfortunately, his life changed in April 2022 when he was diagnosed with a tumor on his voice box, which has left him unable to eat or drink naturally since April 25, 2022. One of the last things he ate was an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen when my husband and I had the privilege of taking him there. He has endured many treatments and received the miracle of being declared cancer-free, something the doctors did not expect. The last hurdle of being able to successfully stretch his esophagus so he can eat and drink again seems impossible at this point, which is disheartening. They recently found another non-cancerous growth that is blocking the way.
What do I see in his life that challenges me?
*He never complains about his situation.
*Despite not being able to eat or drink, he is always willing to go out with the guys or us just to socialize.
*He is always thankful for all the good things in his life.
*He faces the challenges one step at a time.
*He believes and shares how so many others are worse off than he is.
Uncle Pete: Thanks for blessing my life and faith journey. You have been a treasure to know and love these past three years, and you will forever hold a special place deep in my heart! God and I love you~
God used that same article to bless my life in another way that I discovered thirteen months later. On the Holy Land pilgrimage of February 2022, I met a lady in our group who happens to be my birthday twin. She introduced herself and said that because of the article, she signed up to receive my weekly notifications of reflection publications. We had a wonderful time bonding on the pilgrimage as we conversed throughout. The day we shared our faith stories was when I brought a book to her room and talked to her and her roommate for a good hour and a quarter. The three of us get together for fellowship in person every few months, despite living an hour and a half from each other. God is pretty awesome!
Marianne: Thank you for stepping out in faith to receive a stranger’s weekly reflections. It filled my heart with joy learning about some of your faith journey and Jeanne’s while on the pilgrimage in the Holy Land! Thanks for your sweet, caring spirit, which challenges me to be friendlier.
“Pay attention to the people
God puts in your path
if you want to discern
what God is up to in your life.”
~ Henri Nouwen
When we share life’s journey and love others, we know there are also times when we will experience great loss, especially when the Lord calls each of us home. I have experienced this a few times already in the three short years of my book ministry. It makes me reflect on the privilege I’ve had accompanying people in the final months of their lives as we all walk each other home to eternal life in heaven.
*One young man I did not connect with directly, but I had his mom give him a book. About thirty years ago, I had the privilege of having him in my religion class as I attempted to teach. He was the nicest, kindest boy, even at the young age of eight years old. His family was the exact same way, and I always wanted my family to be like theirs. In December of 2020, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the young age of 37. He made good strides in battling the cancer at first, but the Lord called him home in December of 2021. He, his mom, his wife, and three young children remained strong in faith throughout the duration of it. His mom courageously gave a most beautiful eulogy to celebrate his life.
James: Thank you for being the most Christ-like student in my class who taught me to always be kind and loving. Your unwavering faith throughout your illness inspires me to have deeper faith too.
*One person was a man I awkwardly shared a book with one day at church. He emailed me a day later to thank me for the book and to share some of his story. We became spiritual friends and kept in contact for six months before he became ill, which made it hard to keep in touch. He died less than fourteen months after I gave him a book. He was kind enough to attend my second book launch despite being ill. My life was enriched by knowing him, and as a result of going to his funeral, I met and now visit his mom. She is a joy to know and love too!
Don: Thanks for the many spiritual discussions we had that helped challenge me to have more faith and trust. Seeing you at the Lord’s table for the last time is forever etched in my memory and heart. I thoroughly enjoy visiting with your mom and one of your brothers.
*In July of 2019, I attended a retreat where my path crossed with a lady who lived about three hours from me. She overheard me talking to another lady about my website and wanted to learn more about it. I gave the link to her, as I did not have any books published. She started receiving my weekly notifications then, and we started corresponding via email, sharing our faith journeys. She fought through cancer before I knew her, and sadly, she mentioned recently that it had returned. In July of this year, I was thinking about her and sent an email to check on her. I never heard from her and just discovered that she died the day after I emailed her.
Carm: It was so beautiful to see your faith grow deeper and stronger these past four years. I was especially grateful for your last comment on my website, where I saw your deep faith and trust in God shine forth despite the great suffering you were experiencing. You have challenged me to have that same faith and trust, no matter what.
Photo courtesy of ON BORROWED TIME under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
REFLECTION:
Who can you thank for the difference they make in your faith journey?
What lesson from a friend do you need to grow in?
Be encouraged this week to…
…pay attention to and be grateful for the people God is putting in your path.
…reflect on what God is doing in your life through the people you engage with.
…share with someone how you value the difference their faith has made in your life.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. –Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)
Thank you Christine for mentioning how special James was to all who met him. Thank you for honoring him in your blog. You are right you never know who the Lord places in your path. Blessings my friend, ❤️ Shirley
Shirley… I remember James was one of the first people I made the connection with and prayed so fervently for. My heart still is with you all. He was a very special man and I’m honored I got to know and experience the love and joy he shared. Love you!
While traveling here in Canada, God put a waitress in our path. My husband inadvertently left his wallet at a restaurant. He noticed this about 10 minutes later. Panic quickly set in, we retraced our steps back to the restaurant and located the waitress that waited on us. She met us with a smile reassuring us that she picked up the wallet, put it in a safe place knowing that we would return to claim it. Much relieved, we could not thank her enough. Everything in the wallet was very much in tact, license, credit card, and money. We once again, tipped her generously.
God somehow puts the right people in our path at the right time and the right place.
I also believe we had some additional help from St. Jude, the saint of hopeless causes, whose feast day was on this particular day.
Thanks so much for sharing that beautiful story, Helen. It is a perfect example of seeing how the Lord put the perfect person in your path. Thanks for reading and sharing. I appreciate you.
Christine, that was beautiful! You have inspired immensely and God has been with me on numerous occasions. Very recently I left my credit card in a self help machine. When I realized it I ran into the store and it was already in the office. God put this honest and kind man in my path. I realize God does so much for me all the time. I thank Him all day long. Thank you Christine and I thank God for our friendship!
Thanks so much for reading and sharing, Jeanne! What a wonderful blessing of the honest and kind man turning in your credit card. Indeed God does so much for us and it’s so important to take time to thank Him as you do. I, too, thank God for our friendship. You are a joy and I’m so grateful for His orchestration in sharing the pilgrimage last year! Love you~