Sometimes Jesus asks us to do things that are outside of our comfort zone, and we argue with Him, and struggle with Him...just like Moses did. I want to share something with you that happened to me a few weeks ago. I'm not sharing this to be recognized or praised, because it isn't about me, it's about obedience to the Lord, and the blessings that overflow as a result.
I live in a very small mill town just on the other side of the river from Charlotte. It is extremely rare to see homeless people in this little community, especially on this particular road. I had just pulled out onto Catawba Street, just a couple blocks from my house, when I saw a woman walking in the cold rain. Her nose was the first thing I noticed. It was beet red, her head humg low, and she was bundled up in baggy sweats and an oversized jacket, carrying what looked like a sleeping bag rolled up in a garbage bag. My heart immediately began to pound, and I cried out, "Oh God, help her! Have mercy on her!" Do you know what the Holy Spirit said to me? "Turn around and buy her some breakfast and a cup of coffee." I said, "Oh please don't ask me to do that! I'm scared!" So as I'm driving and arguing with God, with all kinds of things running through my head, I've already crossed the bridge into Charlotte, and the Holy Spirit says, "OBEY ME and TURN AROUND!" SO I DID, shaking and panting all the way. I see her and cut her off at a side street, roll down my window and called out to her, "Excuse me! Can I take you for some breakfast and a cup of coffee?" She looks up at me with these big brown eyes and says with a German accent, "Are you serious?" I said, "Yes I'm serious. Get in!" Well, she got in, and she smelled really bad, with dirt streaked on her plain face. She was the most meek and precious woman I have ever met. I asked her where she slept last night, and she told me she slept outside. It had rained all night, and the temps were down in the low 40's.
I took her to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and coffee. We talked a little. Her name is Bridget, and she confirmed that she is from Germany. She's been here for 6 or 8 years...I don't remember which, now. I asked her if I could take her to my church in Charlotte to get her some help, but she declined and asked me if I could take her to the corner of Woodlawn and Old Pineville Rd., so I did. She asked me to drop her off at a gas station, so I did. I asked her if she needed some cash, and she said all she needed was the food and coffee I gave her. I didn't want to let her go, but she assured me she would be fine. I gave her a card with the name and phone number of my church, and wrote my name and phone number on the back, and told her to please call me if she needed ANYTHING. She thanked me and told me, as she was getting out, "You will be blessed." She has no idea how blessed and humbled I already was at that moment. I don't know what the result of that obedience to God was or is, and I may never know.
I was told that she could have been an angel. When I heard that I got goosebumps, because that exact thing had actually come to my mind when I was struggling with God over going back for her. Maybe she WAS an angel. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 13:2 (NIV), "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." But maybe she was just a woman in need of food and warmth for a little while. Maybe she was just a woman who had been beat down by life's circumstances and needed a stranger to show her some kindness, to help her make it one more day. I DO know that in that experience God taught me humility. He also proved to me that when I choose to be obedient, to step out of my comfort zone, He will provide EVERYTHING I need to accomplish His will and purpose.
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