A Divine Appointment

Yesterday was a difficult day. Nothing major happened; just little things that brought old emotions to the surface.

“I have a feeling that you’ll feel better tomorrow,” my friend Lula said when we talked over the phone. “It’ll be a new day.”

And she was right. I woke up feeling a little less sad. But I still felt . . . needy. Like things weren’t quite right yet and I wanted to unload the leftovers from yesterday on someone.

Then I ran into Julie while dropping my son off at school. She offered me a ride home and I immediately took her up on it. We talked long after she pulled into my driveway. I opened up a little about my not-so-great mood and yesterday’s “what’s going on with me?” near-spiral, but suddenly I didn’t feel quite as needy or desperate to rant or cry or both. Next thing I knew, we were talking about other things—God, church, the state of the world that we didn’t know whether to be frightened or excited over, I kind of lost track after awhile.

“I should probably let you go,” I said, realizing all that I needed to do. Suddenly, I had the energy for it.

“I’m so glad I ran into you.” Julie gave me a hug. As it turned out, she had been having a rough morning too. Nothing major, just a not-so-great mood.

And now we were both over it, ready to move on into our day with a lighter heart.

“It was a divine appointment,” Julie said.

“It definitely was.”

Do you feel needy today for . . . something? Maybe you don’t know what you need or why you feel the way you do? Ask God to send you a divine appointment. You never know if you will be that person’s answer to prayer too.

Perfect Timing

Yesterday, and dear friend and her husband treated me and my son to lunch after church. They had no idea that I was exhausted and—while I had just bought groceries and had plenty of food in the house—dreaded going home to make lunch. The invitation felt like a wonderful gift from God.

Last week, I found a card in the mail with a handwritten “I’m praying for you” note inside. While the friend who sent it thought she’d put it off for too long, the card actually arrived at the perfect time, when I needed to receive something other than bills in my mailbox.

Today, I got an e-mail from another friend, thanking me for a fun message that I’d sent her several days ago. Just seeing her name in my inbox and getting confirmation that she’d appreciated my attempt to brighten her day, started mine off on a bright note.

God’s ability to prompt friends to send exactly what I need at the very moment I need a lift, continues to amaze me. He knows when I need an invitation to lunch, a card, or even a reply. He knows when I need to hear a certain friend’s voice, read specific words, or see a familiar name. The most incredible part is that I usually don’t realize my need until I receive it.

We belong to a God who loves us so intimately that He knows what we need. In fact, He knows in advance when we will need kind words, an invitation, or even news that we thought was overdue.

Thank God today for the many perfectly-timed gifts that you have received from Him. If you are having a difficult day, pray that you will recognize when He sends something to turn it around.

You might also want to look at this another way—maybe God is prompting you to send a “I was just thinking about you” text, invite a friend to coffee, or be extra nice to someone who hasn’t been so nice to you. Ask God to keep you sensitive and obedient. After all, you might be the one He wants to use to send a perfectly-timed gift to someone else.