Joke’s On Me

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Graeme Wilson in Victory Call

God has such a sense of humor.  A few weeks ago, I wrote a Victory Call called “Mid-course correction” which ran 6/27/16.

In it I used the following fabricated example: “As you are rushing out of Kohl’s where you picked up a present, there on the bench outside is a woman sobbing.  She’s alone and obviously terribly upset.  You glance at your watch – you have to get to the grocery store before picking up the kids from school.  You glance around and see no one taking notice of this poor woman. What do you do?  What would you say?  You know God is prompting you to extend His care for this woman.

The point of the Victory Call was this: “It’s good to have a plan but when God intervenes in your plan – it’s time for a mid-course correction because God has a different plan. God has a better plan. God has a plan to make His name famous today as you care and show His love for this woman. Caring for others always trumps our plans.”

Fast-forward a few weeks.  My husband and I were at the store while I looked for a suit for job interviews (a step a faith). I had $5 in my wallet to buy chicken on the way home for chicken pot pie.  I had calculated in my head that I could afford 2 pounds of chicken with my $5.

As we leave the store, there sitting on the curb off to one side of the store sat a woman that I didn’t even notice until she called out, “Excuse me ma’am, do you have $1 for a bus ticket?”

After working almost 17 years in addiction recovery, I make it a practice not to give people cash.  So my reply was, “No, I’m sorry I don’t.” After all I didn’t have $1 for the bus, I had $5 for chicken.  [Just keeping it real.]

As we got into the car my own illustration in the Victory Call came to mind so I asked my husband if he thought we should give her $1. It was 101 degrees and she was sitting on the curb.  I figured we could give the woman bus fare and still get 1 ½ pounds of chicken for my pot pie. If she was scamming us it would be on her and we would only be out $1.  So I walked over and gave it to her.  She thanked me got up and walked away.

Whether she actually took the bus, I don’t know but this I know, God brought to mind my very own words and said, “So, what are you going to do now?”  You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? Romans 2:21

I just love God’s sense of humor.

Blessings, Diane

After serving 16 years full time on the staff of America’s Keswick, Diane and her husband moved to North Carolina where she continues to serve part time as a contributing writer and Partner Care Consultant.  She is also a biblical counselor and women’s event speaker. For more information about having Diane speak at your next event please contact her at dhunt@americaskeswick.org.