During our journey to the west coast of Washington, we
stayed at a Holiday Inn in Pendleton, Oregon. While we were staying at this
hotel, I met a man named John. He is a
retired high school teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah, stopping in Pendleton on
his way to Portland. Our conversation started casually, talking about where we’ve
come from and where we were traveling to.
After telling him about my majors in college and my service with The
Bridge, he completely opened up about his family and their missionary
stories. He had stories from the Philippines,
Nepal, Indonesia, Mexico, and Kenya, among other places. I heard a story of his
niece who traveled around the world and helped a small, impoverished church in
Indonesia grow to a strong, large fellowship of Christians. He shared about how she had the courage to
follow where she thought God was leading her.
She even transferred colleges to make it easier to follow her missionary
dreams. He also mentioned how she was
single, and this allowed her to follow the Lord’s plan for her, and was a
crucial part of the path He set out for her. This made me reflect on my own
life. I don’t really have an idea of
what I want to do after I graduate from BV (something involving children,
traveling, Spanish, or all of the above), and I didn’t even have to tell this
to my new friend, John. As we parted
ways, he gave me some advice. I don’t
remember his exact words, but in summary, he said, “Work hard, live simply, and
have a heart for service. Be open to
wherever life takes you. And listen.
Earlier that same day, I had the urge to read the book of
1John. After listening to the radio in
many different states and hearing the broadcasters quote scripture from this
same book, I knew the Lord was leading me to read it. This book of the Bible has also been on heart
all summer long. John’s words for me and
his overall spirit reminded me a lot of the book of 1 John. Particularly 1 John 4:1-2 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits to see whether they are
from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God: every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
This scripture makes me realize that in order to truly
know God’s plan for me, I must listen and pray intently. To be obedient and follow the path He has set
out for me. To be confident in who I am
in Christ. To serve others in the way He wants me to. To be content with living
simply.
My encounter with John was simply a refreshing God moment
in my life. No matter how big the world
seems, the family of Christ is everywhere.
