Friday, April 23, 2010

God Moves In Strange Ways

Discussion After Breakfast

This morning at our gathering for morning prayer there was present Deacon George Sebok, and Wayne Zimmer, who expects to join the diaconate formation programme this coming year, and myself.  After morning prayer, we went for breakfast. Today, because of a scheduling conflict, we did not meet at our usual 5:45 am, but at 6:30, certainly a more civilized hour.   When we completed our prayers, Wayne suggested that we go for breakfast, and then called another old prayer partner, Deacon Chuck Stillwell, who works a night shift security job, and who I have not seen in a long time, inviting him to join us.

It was a blessing to see Chuck again, and reminded me of many of the things that have happened in the lives of the four of us present together over the last 25 years.  Not today's story, but certainly worthy of writing about.

We had a pleasant meal together, and Deacon Chuck left to go home to sleep.  After Wayne left, Deacon George and I talked for a few minutes.  I told George about this story of a German 3 year old who drowned, and was revived:

A three-year-old boy revived by doctors after being clinically dead for more than 3 hours said he saw his great-grandmother in heaven, German daily newspaper Bild reported Thursday.

The boy, named only as Paul, was airlifted to hospital after falling into a lake at the end of his grandparents' garden in the town of Lychen, north of Berlin, and doctors were about to abandon resuscitation efforts.
But after 3 hours and 18 minutes, Paul's heart starting beating again.

"I have never experienced anything like it," one of the doctors, Lothar Schweigerer, told Bild.
"Normally when children have been underwater for several minutes, they don't make it. Paul said to his parents: 'I was with Oma (granny) Emmi in heaven. She told me to go back really quickly.'"

George then reminded me of a story that he had participated in many years before, when he had his own tailor shop.  George has had an abiding faith in our Saviour for a long time, and prayed all day long in his tailor shop while working on people's clothes, repairing them or hemming them.  I always took anything in need of repair to him, because I knew that it would be prayed over.

One day as he was sitting at his sewing machine, he says he saw a movie projected on the wall in front of him.  As he saw it unfold, he saw a young boy who had fallen through the ice, and was trying to get back up from under the ice to safety, fighting against the ice above him.  George remembered specifically that the boy was wearing a red plaid shirt at the time.  He took this as an invitation to intercede for this young boy, whoever and wherever he was.  He was so intent on his praying that he did not hear his employee Joan enter the shop.  She could see how intent he was and came over to him.

She was so caught up in what she had just heard on the radio that she started to tell him the story of a young boy who had fallen through the ice and drowned, but had been revived.  For some reason, the story mentioned that he was wearing a red plaid shirt at the time he fell through the ice.

She then asked George if he was all right, and he proceeded to tell her what had just happened to him.

So, in faith we believe that God called on George to intercede for this young boy, and that his prayers were answered.

When it comes into our minds or hearts that someone we know or don't is in need, it is wise for us to stop what we are doing and pray for their intentions.  It might save their life.  It might help save their soul.

But, it sure won't hurt.

Lord, help me to be aware of your Holy Spirit urging me to prayer for people and situations that I do not fully understand, and answer that call.

No comments: