• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Stephanie J Thompson

exploring sacred connections with God and each otherr

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Speaking

Sometimes God's Purpose for You is Right in Front of Your Eyes

September 15, 2016 by Stephanie Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Have you ever dreamed up big plans concerning how you can be used by God to change the world?  Sometimes God puts big plans in our hearts.  Plans so big and so overwhelming that the immediate reaction is to run; or at least find excuses.  (Let’s not forget that Moses, Jeremiah, Saul, Peter…. encountered those fears). Without a doubt, God is in the business of using us, imperfect as we are, to accomplish great things.

Yet, we easily can get so caught up in those big dreams that we lose sight of the many opportunities we have everyday  to bring the face of Christ to others. Many of those opportunities happen in the mundane, moments of our lives. Jesus regularly spent moments with those who he encountered….while traveling, stopping at a well, eating with friends.  We get so accustomed to the tasks in our routines; so distracted by the images on our electronic devices, the agendas that fill up our days,  that we don’t see others the way Jesus saw them. 

 Sometimes, we don’t see them at all.
untitled-design-4

I am reminded of a few scenarios in which I, unexpectedly, encountered what I call “Divine” moments.  

  • Finding myself lost in a lonely hospital hallway while looking for the meeting room of a support group I attended, I encountered a man. After helping me out, he shared with me that his wife just underwent a double mastectomy earlier in the day.  He was on his way to her room.  
  • While we were cleaning out my grandmother’s space following her funeral, I engaged in a conversation with a man who poked his head in to my grandmother’s room . It was an encounter that, at first, seemed inconvenient with a man, who seemed “grumpy.” I left blessed.  (For the full story:http://stephaniejthompson.blogspot.com/2013/04/divine-interruption.html
  • Helping a woman at a party learn to use her smartphone to see pictures of her grandkids, led to her sharing about a predicament in her life and an opportunity to pray for her.
I don’t share these glimpses into my moments in order to bring glory to myself.  In fact, I’m sure I would have been blessed many more times, had my eyes been looking for the opportunities.
So…my challenge to you as well as myself is this:  When you wake up, ask God to give you the eyes of Christ.  Lend yourself to being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. 
 What would happen if you went into the bank/ gas station and actually talked to the person behind the counter?  
What if you paid for the coffee of the person in line in back of you?
What if you practice grace when the waitress/restaurant staff messes up your order?

What if you listened (really listened-you know what I mean) to your kids/spouse tell about their day?
None of us knows the stories behind those whose paths we cross in a day. Only God knows.  But what we do know is that all of us are broken people in need of grace and hope and validation that our lives matter. Sometimes, God’s purpose for you, is right in front of your eyes.

 
 

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: Sacred Connections Tagged With: broken, Christ, divine moments, dreams, eyes, God, help, Jesus, people, purpose, store, time, TLC

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

When my first child was born 20 plus years ago, I envisioned taking just a few years off from my role as Pastor of Youth and Family. While that didn’t exactly unfold as expected, God used my gifts and skills in other ways. Read More…

Member of Redbud Writers Guild

Follow me!

Follow me!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Never Miss a Post

Top Posts

  • Thirteen Years Flew by in a Blink But God Was Aware of it All
    Thirteen Years Flew by in a Blink But God Was Aware of it All

s2thomp

Oh my goodness! I made red lobster biscuits as a l Oh my goodness! I made red lobster biscuits as a loaf! So good!
Lena ( who is vegan) prepared an herbed butter roa Lena ( who is vegan) prepared an herbed butter roasted turkey. We collaborated on vegan side dishes including rolls (amazing!), sauteed green beans with shallots, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and of course dessert. Thankful for her culinary coaching and help today. How is your Thansgiving?
My recent reads. Three female authors who expanded My recent reads. Three female authors who expanded my recognition of the character of God and what it means to belong to the bold sisterhood of image bearers. I long to have their words coursing through my veins at all times.
“Are these good for baking?” asked the man sha “Are these good for baking?” asked the man sharing space in front of the bin of potatoes. I had navigated around the maze of vegetable stands in the produce department of the grocery store on a Saturday afternoon, and arrived here at this moment. As I looked up, he continued, “I’m new to this.”

 I answered his question, my mind reeling with the scenarios playing out in his life right now. He appeared in his 60’s. Did his spouse recently die? Divorce? “Sure. These are what I use. There is another bin over with more,” I replied as I pointed away from where we stood. 

My answer felt inadequate to what was conveyed seconds before. But it is what he needed. Humanity. A recognition that we see and hear each others as companions in this place wrought with both beauty and pain.

As he parted, he thanked me and I remembered: I have encountered this situation before. Another time in a different store, an elderly man asked me where to find an item and commented that he had never done the grocery shopping before. I walked away wishing I could do more than identify an aisle.

These encounters remind me that “we are all walking each other home.” At anytime, any one of us is harboring invisible struggles. None of us is immune to the realities that we live in a place this side of Heaven. 

But we have the opportunity to offer grace and love in the most ordinary of moments. We share out of what has been given to us. It’s not ours to hoard.

Read more: https://stephaniejthompson.com/2020/10/27/seeking-gods-transformation-of-our-interactions-with-others/  #graceupongrace #sacredconnections. #loveyourneighbor
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

My Tweets

Archives

Categories

  • Advent
  • Easter
  • five minute friday
  • Help! This was not in the book!
  • Sacred Connections

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5 other subscribers

Footer

Portfolio

s2thomp

Oh my goodness! I made red lobster biscuits as a l Oh my goodness! I made red lobster biscuits as a loaf! So good!
Lena ( who is vegan) prepared an herbed butter roa Lena ( who is vegan) prepared an herbed butter roasted turkey. We collaborated on vegan side dishes including rolls (amazing!), sauteed green beans with shallots, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and of course dessert. Thankful for her culinary coaching and help today. How is your Thansgiving?
My recent reads. Three female authors who expanded My recent reads. Three female authors who expanded my recognition of the character of God and what it means to belong to the bold sisterhood of image bearers. I long to have their words coursing through my veins at all times.
“Are these good for baking?” asked the man sha “Are these good for baking?” asked the man sharing space in front of the bin of potatoes. I had navigated around the maze of vegetable stands in the produce department of the grocery store on a Saturday afternoon, and arrived here at this moment. As I looked up, he continued, “I’m new to this.”

 I answered his question, my mind reeling with the scenarios playing out in his life right now. He appeared in his 60’s. Did his spouse recently die? Divorce? “Sure. These are what I use. There is another bin over with more,” I replied as I pointed away from where we stood. 

My answer felt inadequate to what was conveyed seconds before. But it is what he needed. Humanity. A recognition that we see and hear each others as companions in this place wrought with both beauty and pain.

As he parted, he thanked me and I remembered: I have encountered this situation before. Another time in a different store, an elderly man asked me where to find an item and commented that he had never done the grocery shopping before. I walked away wishing I could do more than identify an aisle.

These encounters remind me that “we are all walking each other home.” At anytime, any one of us is harboring invisible struggles. None of us is immune to the realities that we live in a place this side of Heaven. 

But we have the opportunity to offer grace and love in the most ordinary of moments. We share out of what has been given to us. It’s not ours to hoard.

Read more: https://stephaniejthompson.com/2020/10/27/seeking-gods-transformation-of-our-interactions-with-others/  #graceupongrace #sacredconnections. #loveyourneighbor
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

Categories

  • Advent
  • Easter
  • five minute friday
  • Help! This was not in the book!
  • Sacred Connections

Copyright © 2021 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in