A Divine Encounter

Have you ever had an encounter with someone and you leave there with spiritual “chills,” knowing that you have just watched God at work? For me, it’s in those moments (of which I crave more of) the most massive God of the universe could not seem more personal or real. One such moment happened to me this summer, in a most unexpected encounter with a woman named “Song.”

I was waiting for my precious ministry (and otherwise!) friend, Gwen, to join me for breakfast at my hotel’s only restaurant. Due to heavy Atlanta traffic, Gwen was running late. After a few minutes of waiting, I decided to go ahead and let the hostess seat me. I cracked open my new Ravi Zacharias book to read, excited to have a few minutes to get into it. Completely engrossed in the book, I barely noticed my server standing next to me, asking me if I wanted coffee. Looking up, I noticed that she was a woman in her mid to late 50’s, of Asian descent. She wore a nametag bearing the name “Song” on it, which intrigued me. “What an interesting and beautiful name you have,” I commented. “And yes, I would love some coffee!”

Gwen finally arrived, nearly 40 minutes later. Breathless, she and I took right to talking like two wind-up dolls. (Admittedly, we are both very chatty. :) ) We talked through coffee. And in between ordering our food. And when it came out of the kitchen, between each bite. We were just coming up for air when the server again appeared at our table. “I don’t mean to bother you,” she said. “But they are sending me on break. If you could go ahead and take care of the bill, you are welcome to stay and visit as long as you would like. It’s been a pleasure serving you.” We apologized for taking so long and reached for our debit cards to pay. As we did, Song started filling up our coffee cups to top us off before she left. It was then that I felt the Spirit tug on my heart, prompting me to ask her what I could pray for her that day.

I tried to ignore the prompts, arguing that it wasn’t really an appropriate time to ask her such a question. After all, we had prayed a long time ago when our meal arrived. Prayer time was over. But I couldn’t reject the insistent sense in my heart that I was to ask her what to pray for her for. So I took the plunge.

“Song,” I said. “We would like to pray for you today. How can we pray for you?” Still pouring the coffee, Song looked surprised. “Pray…for me?” she asked, clutching her chest. “Yes,” I confirmed. Song paused for a minute and started out slowly. “You can pray for my job. They don’t want me here anymore and are trying to run me off. I am too old, they say. They want girls who are 25-35 years old, not someone like me. I have worked here for 33 years, but they say I don’t do a good job. I know they are just saying that, but it still hurts me. I just want to work here two more years, but they want to get rid of me. Please pray for me. I don’t know what to do.” With every word, Song’s speech got faster and more emotional. By the time she finished talking, heavy tears were falling from her eyes.

Always “spirit-ready,” Gwen grabbed my hands and Songs hands. “Song, we are going to pray for you right now,” she said. Then, sensing Song’s desire to join us, Gwen asked, “Would you like to pray with us?” Song answered with an enthusiastic “yes,” and plopped down in the booth next to us. There the three of us sat, holding hands in the middle of a busy hotel restaurant, praying for Song and her needs. It was a beautiful moment between three kindred spirits.

After we finished praying, Song looked up. With tears in her eyes, she thanked us for praying for her. Then she said something that I will never forget. “God remembered me today,” said Song.

I could just picture Song that morning, getting ready for work, praying and asking God to help her. I could almost hear her asking Him to show her that cared about her and knew of her need. Somewhere between her cup of hot tea or coffee, Song may have cried out to God for help and guidance, not knowing what the day ahead of her would hold. God Almighty had, indeed, remembered Song that day by sending her a message of love and care in the form of two strangers. And in His sweet grace, He had let me sit in on a brief and intimate moment between He and His child, Song…an undeserved voyeur into a moment of His “parental” care.

Inventory of that day has brought me to several personal thoughts about what I experienced in my divine encounter with Song…

~God sees and knows of each of His child’s pain. Like Song, your needs and my needs do not escape His radar screen. Psalm 34:15 says: "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

~God desires to use us to be a tool by which to minister to people. I am embarrassed to admit that many times I reason away the Holy Spirit's promptings and miss out on opportunities to serve others…and see the hand of God at work. I Cor. 4:1 says: “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. “

~God goes to amazing lengths to create a divine moment. There is no happenstance. Had “circumstances” been even a nano-second different, Song and Gwen and I would have never met. Romans 1:20 says: “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Praise Him for being the divine God of the Universe who cares and responds to all of the hurts of His children. Even when He is silent, He is working. I won’t ever forget Song, from Seoul, Korea, or my divine moment with her this summer in a hotel restaurant.

Oh, and one more thing. Call it coincidence or something else…but…Gwen and I both happened to be wearing kimonos that day. :) (check out the pic taken right after )

Lisa

P.S. More next time on someone else I met this summer…a meaningful meeting for me, yet in a completely different way…