God is everywhere. We just have to take the time to look for Him.
I recently took my sixteen-year-old to get her driver’s license. My little town doesn’t have a DMV so we had to travel to a neighboring county.
After our arrival, we were filling out paper work, when a very large teenage boy walked in the door. I’m sure he played football for some lucky high school team because he looked like a linebacker. He was grinning from ear to ear and saying, “yes!” over and over in a loud whisper. He was making deep sighs of relief and actually broke into a happy dance.
This kid’s joy was infectious. I couldn’t help but smile at him and call across the room.
“Did you pass?”
“Yes!” he said, grinning wildly.
I gave him a thumbs up and he returned the gesture. My daughter, who was nervously waiting her turn, relaxed a little. It was impossible not to. This kid was so excited that it spilled over to all who sat in the room. I found myself saying a little prayer of thanks for getting to witness his utter joy.
As I thought of it later, I wondered what the world would be like if all Christians walked around with that kind of joy. We have so much to be joyful about. We have the best retirement plan ever made. We get to spend eternity in Heaven. Our biggest enemy has already been defeated. We have forgiveness and grace. We are loved beyond even our own understanding. Does it get any better than that?
But, we live on this side of Heaven and we get bogged down in the worldly. We sometimes forget. Sometimes we need a little reminder from a teen doing a happy dance, or snuggling puppies, or a babies’ tiny feet. Our world is full of reminders of God’s presence. We merely have to look for them. God shows us His handiwork at every turn if we pay attention.
After the happy teen left, an elderly lady came and sat behind us. She asked me where to get a number and we got to talking. She told us that she was 78 years old and I was amazed. Her face was remarkably unlined and she was incredibly spry.
She shared with us that she had five children, had been a foster mother, worked at Head Start and still volunteered several days a week. She said that was why she felt so young. She was also very active in her church. We talked about church and prayer and I told her we had been praying that my daughter would pass her driving test. She looked at my teen directly in the eyes and told her that she needed to be praying herself and not to rely on her mama. My daughter assured her that was the case. She left shortly after and wished us luck.
I pondered the conversation and marveled about seeing God everywhere. Who would have thought a woman would talk to my teen about prayer at the DMV? It settled her nerves. She passed her test. Did God put that teen boy there at that moment to help my daughter relax? Did God send that sweet lady? Who knows? Is it possible? Oh, yeah.
With God, all things are possible. (even at the DMV) Never stop looking.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂