The Journey Begins...

It was Easter Sunday, many years ago.  We had experienced a Sunrise service by the lake, shared breakfast with our neighboring churches and were now gearing up for three packed out services.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, talks about prevenient grace:  God going ahead of us and working in our lives before we even accept His grace.  I believe that God works ahead of us in many of life's situations, preparing us and setting up the events for something great that he has in store in the future.  I hold passionately to this belief because I have experienced it on many occasions.  One such occasion was that Easter Sunday morning.

When it was time for the third service, after having attended the previous services, I decided to stop by the nursery and see if they needed help.  The volunteers in the nursery had everything under control and all the babies were happy for the time being. As I walked out, I noticed a mother and her baby girl, probably around a year old, sitting quietly in an adjacent room.  I entered the room and introduced myself.  Her name was Amy.  We laughed to each other and agreed that we certainly should be able to remember each other's name.  Brianna was the bouncy little girl.  She was so full of life, giving me the biggest smiles and giggles.  I could never forget that adorable face.  Amy went on to tell me that she was the daughter of Sarah and Joe Geddie.  She lived in a nearby town and she and her family had driven over to spend Easter Sunday with her parents.

We visited a little longer and  I left to slip back into the service.   Was my encounter with Amy by chance that day?  Absolutely not.  I will go to my grave believing that it was a beautiful plan set in motion by God.  I was meant to meet and converse with her on that day.

A couple of years later, I was making a Walmart run while my girls were in school.  It was early afternoon and I had not had anything to eat.  I decided to grab a hamburger from the McDonalds inside the store. When I walked in, I saw Amy sitting there with that little blonde haired blue eyed girl.  I would have recognized her anywhere.  I sat beside them, planning to eat quickly and be on my way.  Brianna had no intention of letting me make a quick exit.  Now a toddler, she had a vivid imagination and a vocabulary to match.  She began telling me happy stories, sad stories and even scary stories.  Her mom laughed.  "I am afraid her babysitter lets her watch a little too much television."

Before I left, I took a minute to ask Amy about her mother.  I sat by her mom, Sarah, every Wednesday night at choir practice.  I knew that Sarah was suffering with kidney disease.  Sarah never complained and or mentioned her illness.  She would never let us know how bad things really were.  That is just Sarah, not wanting to burden anyone.  When I ask Amy about her mom, her eyes welled up a bit.  "It's not good.  The doctors say that if she doesn't get a kidney transplant in the next few months, she will have to go on dialysis."  It was quiet for a moment.  I could tell that even little Brianna sensed the seriousness of the situation.  I will never forget Amy's next words.  "I don't have the right blood type to give her one of my kidneys.  I would have given her one ten years ago if I could.  It just breaks my heart that I cannot do that for her."  I assured her that we would be praying for her mom, especially now that I knew the seriousness of the situation.

As we got ready to go our separate ways, I asked Amy what Sarah's blood type was. She was O positive.  She can only receive a kidney from someone with O blood type.  I made a hurried trip through Walmart as I had to pick up my girls soon.  After loading the car, I settled in behind the driver's wheel.  I thought to myself, "My blood type is O negative."

That, my friends, was the beginning of  this beautiful journey.