What did God do today?

Remember the WWJD craze? You know, those initials were on everything (t-shirts, bracelets, rings, bumper stickers). WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?

I don't see it much anymore. People wore them to remind themselves to react as they expect Jesus would react if in their shoes. I must admit I didn't really get it. First of all, I certainly don't presume to know the mind of God or to know how He would react to situations. God has much more insight and knowledge than I could ever have. Yet, I bought one of those bracelets.

I wore it on a trip with high schoolers to Washington DC. I was a chaperon. I had never done anything like that and knew it was probably out of my comfort zone, and if I am to be honest, it might not be so much fun for those students either. So I thought that having the reminder around my wrist that I was a Christian would be important. I imagined myself getting angry at some teenager for breaking rules or something. It is a long story that this post is not about so details will be skipped. The bottom line was that the bracelet became a lifeline for me as I went 36+ hours with no sleep and dealing with an intense situation in a hospital while one of the teens faced emergency surgery.

Sadly though, I did lose it at one point. It was not a teen or anyone involved with the trip. Just a person who had the wrong attitude with me when I had not one ounce of patience left. I learned the line between sanity and insanity is very thin and one I hope to never cross again. I found myself in a public bathroom, on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. For someone who is a control freak, trust me when I say this was not a good thing. I had just splashed my face with cold water, looked in the mirror and saw my reflection looking ragged and frightened. I leaned against the wall and just sank to the floor where I sat and cried. My hands over my face, I opened my eyes and saw that bracelet on my wrist. I cried some more. WWJD?

WWJD?!? I'll tell you what He wouldn't do! He wouldn't scream at some stranger on the phone like a raving lunatic. That is what He wouldn't do!

But as those and other thoughts entered my insanity I felt a calmness starting to reclaim my heart. I prayed there, on the floor of that bathroom, for a very long time. I pulled myself together and went back to the surgical waiting room to wait for news on the teen I had brought to the hospital hours before.

She remained there and eventually family came to meet her and take her home. I returned to the role of chaperon and clung to that bracelet for the next three days. Believe, me I needed it, there were other "situations" that happened on that trip. It was my lifeline to God and reminded me that I belong to Him. When I returned home I wrapped the bracelet and sent it to the high school girl I had spent so many hours with in the emergency room. The note included why I wanted her to have it. We met at a store a few years later, by chance, and hugged as if we had never stopped knowing each other. I've not seen her again but I often think of her and pray for her.

That was a lifetime ago for me. Much has changed. I've grown in my faith and my knowledge of the Lord. I've still got a long way to go but today I was reminded that I belong to Him. A simple unexpected phone call and I am in awe of the God who spoke our universe into existence.

The content of the call is not what matters. What matters is how God used a sad event (the death of a loved one) in this person's life to connect us. Strangers when I answered phone, we concluded the call - sisters in Christ. Her broken heart bared early in our talk put her on cliff that I had the power to push her off of. Yet, I knew that is not what she needed. She needed to feel safe. So I listened, for a very long time, as she poured out years of difficulties and hurts. The longer we talked the more we found we have much in common. I asked her if I could pray with her before we hung up and she sobbed "YES" in a way that let me know no one, not even those close to her, had offered to pray with her over these things that trouble her sleep. It was a God moment. God used the death of someone in her family to result in a phone call where we were able to meet. The reason for her call was insignificant and was easy to take care of. Yet, God wanted more for her. She longs for a church home and after talking God brought just the right one to my mind. I pray she visits. She desires friendship, God gave her soulship. But He wasn't done there. See, I have my own need, a small insignificant need that is really more of a nuisance than a need. After listening to her share what she does I realized she might be able to take care of my need. So I shared what I needed and she was ecstatic about helping me. As a result, we will talk again and probably even meet in person.

I have moved beyond asking, "what would Jesus do" and moved in to watching to see what God is doing! How about you? What has God done in your life today? Nothing? If that is true I can assure that you are wrong. He is active in our lives. However, if we aren't watching for Him, we will miss it. Before you fall to sleep tonight, ask yourself:

"What did God do today?"

You might be surprised by the answer.