“The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.”—Psalm 29:11 (NLT)

I had another topic all written and ready to post for this week, but then I had a pretty moving experience when I gave away one of my hand knit gifts. Last week I was a little discouraged wondering if what I was doing really was making a difference. God Gave me confirmation after I was prompted to give a gift to a lab technician.

As the technician was typing in my information, she felt something in her pocket and said, “I forgot I had perfume samples in my pocket.” Which of course, got me started on asking her about what her favorite perfume was and she pulled out a sample from her purse to give me for the one that she was wearing.

Not only was it was nice to have someone so sweet and friendly serving me, but I welcomed the diversion as she was drawing my blood.  When I was done, I thought, “I need to go out to my car to get a knit gift to give to her.”

I have been been driving around with a bag of gifts in my car since December. I give them away when I feel prompted and honestly couldn’t have told you what was left in my stash. I had a hat and a lavender sachet. After our talk about fragrances, I knew I needed to bring her the lavender sachet, but also brought the hat so she could choose. Mind you, the tags that I put on the gifts was from over a month ago, so I couldn’t tell you what scriptures where on which gifts.

When I went back in, fortunately, no one else was in the office and I told her, “I’m back and I have a gift for you. I knit gifts to give to people that make a difference in my day and I wanted to thank you for your kindness and the perfume you gave me.” I asked her to choose which gift she wanted. She chose the sachet. I let her know that I pray over the gifts as I make them and ask God to lead me to the right person to receive it. I then said, “You matter and you make a difference. Thank you.”

She thanked me and gave me a big hug and her eyes filled with tears as she told me, “God knew I needed some encouragement today.” She also shared with me how one day the prior week, when she was having a hard day after she had finished with a client, the woman told her the she felt like she needed to pray for her and asked her if that was okay. “And, then God sends you right when I need it too.”

I told her to that one of my favorite scriptures was attached to her gift too. She hadn’t seen that, so she pulled it out of her purse, read it, shook her head, covered her mouth and started to cry. It was Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” She told me, “You have no idea how much I needed to hear this, but God did. He is so good.”

I had to leave because I was about to start crying too…which I did as soon as I got in my car and I cry as I type this. I couldn’t believe how God had orchestrated that. She was obviously a Christian who had been crying out to God and He let her know that He heard her prayers.

Something as simple as letting her know I noticed her was the reassurance she needed. God used both my word and His Word to remind her that He was with her with whatever storm she was going through. Sometimes it is in our desperation that the Holy Spirit will communicate to us in this way to let us know that we are not alone.

I would have never guessed she was hurting. She was so full of joy, but now I know that she chose to have a joyful spirit despite what she was going through, just as God’s Word tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 “Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing.”

I share this story with you because look at what a blessing I would have missed had I not listened to that nudge to go back inside to give her one of my gifts. I had such a strong feeling that I knew was from God and I couldn’t ignore it. Not just that, God also put her in my pathway because it was what I needed from Him to confirm that I was doing what He has called me to do and what I am doing is making a difference in His Kingdom.

I don’t even want to think about the number of times I miss the mark because I am too busy, I’m worried about what others may think or it’s just not convenient. I think it is interesting that my word for 2020 is Deeper which I thought was for me to dig deeper into God’s Word, which it is, but I also see as I am more obedient to those nudges that my relationship with my Heavenly Father deepens as well. 

How many other people are put in our pathway that need a smile or kind word? Sparing 5 minutes of your time could change the trajectory of someone else’s day when you let them know they matter. It doesn’t take much. The more I do it the less awkward it gets. I don’t hold up lines, I am considerate with my kind gestures. Had there been a waiting room full of people, I would not have held things up, but look at how God made sure I was there at the perfect time to give the exact words to one of His hurting children.

I realized that when I am doing things in the name of Jesus, that I am not doing them in vain. I may not ever see the harvest from the seeds that I am planting and that is okay because God sees what I am doing and that is all that matters. 

Dear Lord,

Thank You that You order my steps for the day. Help me to be obedient to walk in  where You have called me to go. I ask for forgiveness when I choose to ignore those nudges to love like Jesus, but I praise You that every day you give me another chance to listen to where you are leading me. I ask that You open my eyes to speak words of love and kindness to someone that needs to know that You love them and they matter. It is in the name of Jesus that I pray these things. Amen.

February Memory Verse

“The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.”—Psalm 29:11 (NLT)

Please make sure you tweet @KnitPrayShare or share your projects on the Knit, Pray, Share Facebook page or Instagram using the hashtag #KnitPrayShare. Be sure to attach a tag to whatever gift you make.