Heart Surgeon
 
Recently we talked in this space about listening for the whisper of God as He seeks to coach us on His errands. I think you'll love this current, true story.
 
Our friend, Jim, living in the continental US, wanted to phone a colleague in Hawaii. He punched in the number, the phone rang a couple of times, and a lady answered. "Hello, is this Michelle?" he asked. "No, this is Jeannie," the answer came back. "You must have the wrong number."
 
They agreed he had misdialed one digit so they both chuckled and moved to hang up. "Just a minute, before we hang up..." Jim urged. (Watch for the whisper here...) "I'm a pastor...is there anything I can pray about for you?"
 
Intrigued now by this unusual phone call, Jeannie thought a minute, then replied, "Well, actually, I'm trying awfully hard to stop smoking. If you want to pray about that, maybe God will help me." There were follow-up phone calls when they talked - and prayed - about other things as well.
 
Jeannie was ever-so-slowly making her way toward God. Jim learned that she had been a prominent business executive in Beverly Hills, with all the perks - the cars, the Gucci shoes, and all the emptiness that comes with too much. One day she decided that, although she was climbing the corporate ladder, it seemed to be learning against the wrong wall. She quit her job and moved to a little rental house in Hawaii. One of the specialties of the little house was that the foyer had a glass ceiling. She loved to turn off the lights and watch the night sky circle overhead. She sensed in a fresh way, the presence of God.
 
Late one afternoon she saw a man pulling weeds in the yard. Then he sat down on a bench nearby. It happened other days, too. "If he's the gardener he is sure sitting down a lot," she assumed to herself. She finally decided to confront him.
 
"If you're really the gardener," she chuckled, "I don't think my landlord is getting his money's worth." "Actually, I'm not the gardener," he replied. "I am chief of surgery at the hospital nearby. Your landlord is my friend and he lets me come up a couple of times a week and just sit here and regroup in the beauty of the place."
 
Next time she and Pastor Jim spoke she told him the story. He said, "Do you realize how God has honored you? When Mary met Jesus on the morning of the resurrection she mistook Him for the gardener. Later she would know Him also as the great Heart Surgeon. I think God was reaching out to tell you what a treasure you are to Him."
 
Stay tuned; the story is on-going...
 
By Don Jacobsen


H ouses  O P rayer  E verywhere
Like us on Facebook