1 Samuel (Chapter 9: 14-27, Chapter 10: 1-8 )
Donkey Days
Many times on the top side of God's green earth, what looks like an ordinary day in ones life; can surprisingly yield a shocking, amusing, unexpected surprise? As I read the story of Saul-How one very ordinary day at the urgent request of his father, Saul combed the hillside searching for some lost donkeys. Little did he know that the prophet Samuel was waiting to anoint him King of Israel? Saul would be Israel's first king. This story reminded me about different times when God unexpectedly allowed events to explode upon the landscape of my life. The serendipities of life are the things that often keep us motivated to keep on keeping on.
One Sunday Morning I was traveling with my sister to hook up with an evangelist friend of hers who had accepted a preaching engagement in the rural town Bennettsville, South Carolina. We stopped at a rest stop where we were suppose to meet up with her. I was headed to the rest room when a man, who happened to be a long distance driver for Wal-Mart stopped me and asked me if I were going to church. His assumption was correct, since he could see that I was dressed for the part. His brashness and audacity to ask a black woman where she was going took me by surprise and I was a little nervous and a bit fearful. I quickly excuse myself and told him I was headed to the rest room. It was there that the Lord and I had an emergency chit-chat. I wanted to know from Him whether I should even be talking to such person. Well, to make a long story short, he invited himself to come to church with us; saying that the Lord told him that he needed to fellowship with some believers. That man followed us to a small rural Pentecostal church where Evangelist Hayes was to preach. He made himself at home and enjoyed the fellowship.
At the end of the service it had started to rain. My sister and I went out to the car, but I thought to my self, I should say something to Andrew before we leave. Suddenly he made his way out of the church and headed to my car. We said a few words to each other, but he interrupted and began to prophesy to me about some things he said the Lord would do in my life. I was completely caught off guard. I opened the door and allowed him to sit for a few minutes as he began to flow in the spirit.
At the end of that day I thought about our chance meeting. I knew that it was a divine appointment sent by God. Later that evening, I had to repent, because of my own prejudices. At first, I did not want to converse with Andrew. He was a complete stranger and I rationalized that it was alright to have my guard up, even if he did sound interested in attending church with us. Secondly, I was prejudice because he was a truck driver. Who talks to strangers especially truck drivers, white ones? I couldn't see the value in stopping to have a conversation with the likes of him! Wow, was I wrong about him. I learned that he and his wife were worship leaders at their church. Andrew described his wife to me. I even got a chance to speak to her on the phone. He was more accepting of me than I was of him. He described to his wife the great time he had at this church.
I wrong about a lot of things that day. I discovered that you cannot judge a book by its cover. God can wrap blessings up in whatever package he decides. I was blessed by Andrews's words and we communicated several times after I returned to Connecticut.
The story of Saul is refreshing and delightful. Far too often we bemoan our daily routines. Our days are often boring, uneventful, full of trouble and never-ending. My days are similar to the ho-hum days that Saul experienced while hunting for some lost donkeys. However, you and I should never take our days on earth for granted. We must realize that God indeed has a plan for our lives. He has a settled purpose. We must be guided by God's wisdom and love. All God ask of us is to trust him and have confidence in his ability to guide us to our destination.
Dreary days? Donkey Days? Yes Lord, quite often we do experience them. But just around the corner or at the top of a hill; the Lord waits with an awesome spectacular surprise! Look for one my brother, expect to find one my sister.
And as always- Don't Forget To Say Your PRAYERS!
