Something unusual happened to us recently. My husband and I were playing a quick hand of cards at the dining room table while the boys lapped up a few last minutes of free time before we were off to Wednesday night stuff at church when the doorbell rang. I sighed deeply. Who in the world could that be? I just wanted a few minutes to relax before heading back in.  (Don’t get me wrong.  I love church and I love church people. It’s just that sometimes I need a change of scenery, especially when I know I need to preserve my energy for several more hours of activities on a cold winter evening).

My husband reached the door before me.  As I hesitantly rounded the corner I saw him standing in the doorway, holding open the storm door while looking down at a little boy. My youngest son, Cole, recognized him from school.  To the boy he said, “Oh, hi,” and then to me, “This is my friend.” They were such good friends, in fact, that Cole didn’t even know his name.

My husband looked out to the road to a man in a van who had evidently brought the boy. My husband gave him a wave as a gesture of “hello.” Evidently the man took it as some kind of gesture of permission or affirmation...he waved back and then just drove away. I stood there with eyes and mouth wide open staring at this child in our doorway. I was stunned. Who was this child? Why was he here? What if the van doesn’t come back!?

The boy said that his dad would be back in a few hours.

We learned the child’s name and learned that he could dial his dad’s phone number on the keypad. After he told his dad we were leaving in 20 minutes, I asked the child if he would like for me to speak with his dad. He nodded. I hesitantly placed the phone to my ear and said, “Hello, this is Stephanie…” There was only silence. I said, “Who am I speaking with?” After hesitation the man told me his first name. I explained that I was a pastor and that we had Wednesday night commitments at church and would be leaving in 20 minutes.  I offered for his son to come with us and participate in our children’s program.  There was another pause.  “What church is it?” he asked.  I told him.  He said, “Oh, really…”  There was another pause.  He seemed to be thinking.  “O.k..” he said.  “We’ll be back by 8:15,” I said.  “That will be fine,” he said.  That was it.

We bundled the child up in a coat and hat from our closet and off to church we went.  The boy explained that his family didn’t go to church.  The children had a great time.  They talked about Jesus and fishing for people and did fish prints with paint and real whole flesh and bone fish.  Dead ones of course.  Three rainbow trout and a tilapia.  The boys thought it was awesome and the girls said it was gross, but not one of them could stop talking about it.  They loved it.  I smiled to see this sweet little blond-haired, blue-eyed boy at my son’s side like he belonged there all along.  He seemed right at home.  He hit it off with Cole instantly.

My husband picked them up for me while I wrapped some other things up.  The child explained he lived just down the street from us.  The boy pointed to his house.  My husband pulled up to the house, waited until the boy was safely inside, and then drove away.  When Patrick told me this I had to wonder if it was really the child’s house…or if we just did to these residents what the last driver did to us!

I can’t help but wonder what God has in store for this little guy.  I can’t help but wonder about their story.  What if they had a serious illness in the family?  What if they were hoping and needing for us simply to feed him?    What if they accidentally just dropped him off at the wrong house!!??   What if the man had just lost his job and was about to drive himself off a bridge?  O.k., maybe that was a bit much.

It's just that I can’t help but wonder in our culture if God has to work hard at making strangers' paths cross, and how maybe he got tired of trying to get my attention and just threw this one on our doorstep.  What if through this experience God planted some tiny seed of hope in this child that will someday change the course of his life?  I don’t know.  But it sure is an awesome feeling to imagine that God can use us all in random, blink-of-an-eye, unprepared moments like this.  I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he told parables about keeping awake and being prepared.  Maybe we all got a glimpse of the kingdom of God that night.  Hmm.  It's a curious thing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 10:41 PM.

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