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Lisa Lickel
And Sometimes, God Follows You
Posted by Luther D. Powell on August 16, 2012
Before you ask, no, I don’t mean God follows you as in, He obeys your every whim.
You see, as Christians, we’re supposed to follow God; not only obey Him, not only do what He does, but also go where He goes. We should shadow Him, if you will, strive for His attention, show Him we love Him. But sometimes, He does the same to you. Out of nowhere. Like He’s just following you around.
It’s hard enough to comprehend a God of everything who loves us, ALL of us, but sometimes, He really goes out of His way to remind us.
Last night, I moved into my new apartment in Bowling Green. My roommates and I were deciding on dinner plans, when my Saudi-Arabian neighbors inivited us to have dinner with them. Me and the guys happily accepted, but much to our surprise, the neighbors weren’t exactly inviting us to sit down and eat with them. Turns out, they just cooked us an entire meal, for us, JUST FOR US, a meal for four guys, and they gave it to us and went about their dinner separately. And it wasn’t like hotdogs or something simple, either. This was chicken and rice with all kinds of exotic spices and stuff that you generally can’t get at the grocery store for cheap. They’re a married couple with one energetic son; an average family –from another country, mind you– who had stuff to do, and they just cooked us a wonderful meal out of the kindness of their hearts.
I won’t say it was an act of God. I feel like that term, “act of God,” kind of gets thrown around carelessly when something happens to someone out of the blue which turns out to be convenient. When I think of an “act of God,” I’m thinking something more along the lines of seas being parted, but maybe that’s just me. No, this was merely God’s love shining through people in an unexpected way, a peaceful reminder that we as humans, even when from different countries and backgrounds, can have loving fellowship together. It was such a blessing that my neighbors, whom I had just met, felt like cooking a meal for me. For all I know, they aren’t Christians, but God blessed me through them regardless.
Personally, I’ve felt distant from God this past week, partly being distracted by the upcoming schoolyear and getting moved into my apartment and all that, partly because I’m an imperfect human who gets distracted. Either way, God stuck around to tell me He loved me in this simple, awesome way. Whether or not you’re feeling particular closeness to Him, God will just follow you around, whispering in your ear, “Hey, remember me? I made you, and I love you.”
Sorry if that was a bit scatterbrained. I’m still recovering from post-move-in stress, but I’m really looking forward to this year with my brothers and my super-great neighbors next door! Thanks for reading, God bless!
In Christ,
Luther D. Powell
2 Responses to “And Sometimes, God Follows You”
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Elaine Marie Cooper said
What a blessed expression of God’s love for you, Luther, and your roommates! God’s real love from unexpected places.
I pray that your new friendship with this family of neighbors blooms.
Lisa Lickel said
Here’s the excellent example of reaching out first, establishing that semblance of good will before prejudice leaps to tackle. Pass it on. My oldest son Andy used to bake chocolate chip cookies in the dorm kitchen, then wander the halls passing them out until they were gone.