Saturday, September 6, 2008

God's Chosen People.... In My Life

I continue to be blessed by the people that God chooses to put in my life. Rarely a day passes that I am not reminded of and reassured by their presence. Some days - like yesterday - their presence is essential!

There are, of course, the teachers. People who have come with some formal(ish) instruction plan. They have a specific message with a depth and breadth that exceeds coincidence. Often the lesson is discovered retrospectively, but it is there, nonetheless.

There are the strangers. The people I meet at the grocery store, at Wal*mart or at the airport. Frequently we share only a brief smile of encouragement, a opportunity for service, or the understanding of a shared situational frustration. God-chosen? Absolutely! They show up when I am feeling isolated, or I need to 'get out of my Self' through service.

There are also friends - those who walk beside me with an ear, a shoulder and support. They are the people with whom I can be transparent. I can - and do! - share my joys and my sorrows, my hopes and my fears. I can process ideas and situations openly. They listen, provide honest feedback, and remind me to "believe".

Most interestingly, there are those people who really, really annoy me. The ones that STAY in my life, and continue to annoy me! I used to roll my eyes and ask, "God, can you take them away? PLEASE?" He never does. Then, I learned to listen to them - really listen. It may not be their words, but their delivery that I needed to see or hear. More often than not, they brought with their annoying presence, a message or a gift. Had I continued to ignore or condemn them, there would be much I never would have received.

I start to notice patterns. Recently, there has been an influx of women who pray... really, really well. Beautiful, eloquent prayers. Women that I can call, text, email or IM with a prayer request, and I know they will pray. No matter how trivial the request, I know it will be brought before God. I know they are there for a reason - and one beyond my own personal needs and requests. I'm sure they're here to teach me to pray (aloud!) - I hope one day to match their eloquence.

Recently, a teacher-friend made an interesting comment. She knew me when I was hiding behind a self-constructed wall. A wall designed to keep others out and the "real" me in. It felt safer that way.... then. She said, "You don't have the wall to protect you anymore, you have been given God-chosen people who love and surround you!" She was so, so right... Thank You, God!

2 comments:

kristin said...

You know, I may not be eloquent, but you can always send me a prayer request. :-)

Linda said...

Thank you, Kristin!

Grateful to expand my prayer circle!