I have experienced times in my life without God as my Father. I have experienced the darkness of a life lived while rebelling against my Heavenly Father. I have also experienced the beauty of an intimate relationship with God.
A few weeks ago, I had an amazing moment when God the Father revealed His love in a really remarkable way.
One of our best friends, John Diehl invited me and my son to go rafting with him and his son. We know the Diehls from our network. A network is made up of two or more life groups that come together on mission to reach out and to serve our friends and neighbors. For several years, the Diehls’ life group and our life group get together for dinner once a month, and we serve together from time to time including trips out with Mobile Loaves and Fishes.
So Caleb and I show up at the Green Belt to go rafting on Barton Creek. What I have only seen as a hiking trail was now a full on river with rapids! John had some rubber rafts for us and bicycle helmets for our trip. I am not sure our gear was officially certified for rapids, but we could not wait! In fact, I had my phone with me to capture this adventure, but he encouraged me to keep it in the car because he said: “You will get wet.”
He was absolutely right.
The waters were moving quick, and we were doing our best to navigate the rocks and boulders that made up the rapids. As the river divided into two paths, John who was out in front shouted out: “let’s go left!” We started paddling to get to the left when all of a sudden he shouted: “Go right! Go right!” It was too late! Caleb and his oar got bounced out of his raft and floated down the river. Eventually things calmed down enough that we got him and his oar back in his boat.
Now, there was this moment at one point in our journey in between rapids, when I just felt such a tremendous sense of peace and joy. Floating down the river, I was just feeling such a sense of gratitude to God for bringing us back home to Texas, for giving us such a great church family, for giving us such great friends. At about that moment, I saw a red-tailed hawk or an eagle or it could have just been a vulture fly above me. Whatever it was, it was beautiful! It was awe-inspiring! It was a moment I never wanted to forget.
That was when I so wished I had my phone. I wanted a picture or even better, I wanted a video of this moment.
It was just about then something amazing happened: I saw Corky. Corky is part of the Gateway McNeil campus. Corky lives in Manor, and for some reason Corky was standing along the banks of the river with his camera taking this video:
What are the odds?!?
God sent Corky from Manor to Barton Creek, a river that did not even exist until a few weeks ago to videotape me, my son, and our friends.
A verse came crashing into my mind Matthew 7:
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! – Matthew 7:7-11
Our heavenly Father has so much for us! Do you have an open mind to see Him?! Do you have an open heart to feel Him?! Do you have open ears to hear Him?!
I have come to believe that sometimes God says “yes” to little moments like this to remind us we can trust Him when He has to say “no” or “not yet” in bigger moments.
