Can a problem in your life become a solution in someone else’s life? I believe it can after I had this experience.
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter-in-law asked my husband and me to come upstairs because she needed help with a clogged kitchen sink. We tried the typical homeowner solutions but did not get results. Fortunately, we have a warranty on the inside plumbing, so we called the company for some help. Unfortunately, it took several days for them to find a plumber to pick up the job.
So we carried plastic dishpans of dirty dishes downstairs to the kitchenette in our part of the house for several days so we could hand-wash them there. Finally, the company informed us they had assigned a plumber to the problem and help was on the way!
The plumber, Marc, came in and got straight to work. We chatted a little as he was diagnosing the problem and he noticed a dirty cup to the right of the sink on the countertop. It was a cup with a church name on it - the kind that is often given to visitors as a gift. It wasn’t from the church where I attend and serve, but it started a conversation.
He told me he had been in this area for several months, but hadn’t settled on a church home for himself and his family. So I told him about my church, Covenant Fellowship, and invited him to visit.
I watched for him in the church lobby that Sunday morning, but I didn’t see him come in. The service that morning was alive with the presence of God. It was a Celebration Sunday. On those Sundays, new members join the church, parents dedicate their babies to the Lord, and the service ends with water baptism after the sermon.
As I observed the baptism, I felt a tap on my shoulder. There was Marc, in the borrowed clothing we keep for people who didn’t come prepared for baptism, but who wanted to be baptized. He had been so touched by the sermon that morning that he felt a prompting of the Holy Spirit to come and be baptized.
Marc has returned to church on several occasions since that first Sunday. I don't yet know if he will make it his permanent church home, but if he does, the church will provide a place for his gifts and talents to flow and flourish. He will have fellowship and develop friendships. He can receive spiritual nourishment here - all because our sink got clogged up.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” What good did that clogged drain do me? Anything that strengthens a brother or sister in Christ also helps me. Any benefit to my church is a blessing in my life.
Did I enjoy carrying dishes up and down the steps for three days? Not really. Was it worth it for the outcome? Absolutely!
When life brings challenges and difficulties of any magnitude, that’s an opportunity to trust God. It may also be a divine setup for a totally unexpected result.
No comments:
Post a Comment