Breadcrumbs

I was recently asked to share the story of my faith journey with a group of young professionals. As I was recounting my path from no awareness of God, to awakening, to becoming a Christian, one things was clear- God put people and events in my path to lead me to Him.

Someone once said to me that God’s plan for our lives can be a bit like a GPS- if we follow Him we can get to where we are going like the most efficient WAYZ routing. But, as with many of us, we get distracted and off the path (or actively seek to go our own way)- and God is there to reroute us back in the direction we need to go, if we are only willing to pay attention. Sometimes that grinding voice of the GPS telling us to “make a U-turn NOW” is something we choose to ignore- at our peril. The good news is that we have an opportunity as long as we live to get onto the right path!

It really struck me how there have been so many people in my early days of finding faith who I am sure felt like their witness was wasted on me. In college, which was the first time I really met people who were active Christians, I was openly rude to many of them. I thought they were hypocrites or ignorant, and I wasn’t shy to share that with them. I am certainly not proud of how I treated them- but I share this because I think it is important to recognize that those people were planting seeds- or in the imagery that I like the best, they were putting down breadcrumbs for me to follow, eventually leading to Jesus.

I have a very dear friend – a wonderful woman who lives her faith loudly in her actions. She is someone who I attribute a huge part of the change in my heart from being negative and resistant to the message of Christ to being open. Many years ago I had recently moved into my home on a military base. I was large and lumberingly pregnant, with another baby in arms. I met my neighbor from across the street briefly and we exchanged introductions and pleasantries. The next time I saw her, I was recovering from a c-section – but unfortunately my baby had died in the hospital. I was devastated, and was far from recovering from facing an empty nursery. I ran into my neighbor and she briefly shared with me that she had also lost a child-and offered to have me over for a coffee if I wanted to talk. I think I was on her doorstep at 8am the next morning!

She was a lifeline to me at a time that I didn’t know where else to turn. She was a great listener and was open and honest about how she dealt with her own loss. Eventually she invited me to a bible study that she hosted at her home- and initially I declined, saying that I wasn’t “into” that sort of thing. She told me I was welcome any time, and that I was not obligated to talk – or to believe- anything that anyone said. She said it was a nice group of people and there was good food (she is an amazing cook!). I went, and in time I was curious enough to participate. Later on, when our husbands all went off to war she invited me to go to her church with her. Any diversion at that time was welcome – and I began to listen and to hear what was being said.

It was a number of years later that I believed that Jesus died for me, that He is God’s Son – and that I wanted to accept the Gospel message. I know from conversations with my former neighbor (who, 30 years later, I still count as a very dear friend) that she doesn’t believe she did much in the way of shaping my faith journey- but the work that God did through her was immeasurable. It also showed me that just inviting people – to a conversation, to a meal, to a prayer group or to church- can be the opening they need in their life to begin their faith journey.

I think for all of us, we have no idea how God is using us as we interact with people, but I really do believe that if we approach each day prayerfully and ask God to make us His instrument- we don’t really need to know the outcome of every story in which we play a role. We can trust that God’s ways are perfect and that in the fullness of glory, if we submit to His will and follow what He has planned for us, the story He is writing is amazing!!