God Sightings This Week!

Every week, a pastor friend begins Sunday morning worship with an invitation to the entire congregation; “Tell us about your God-sightings this week.”  For him, this is the essence of the weekly worship experience – sharing the members’ weekly personal encounters with God. Sharing these God-sightings is the heart of their faith community – the “common-unity” of experiencing God in their daily lives.

What God sightings have you experienced this week?  When and where have you felt His presence in your life over the past few days?

Seeing Jesus isn’t difficult.  I may be crazy, but I see Him, literally, every day.  Here are three of examples just this past week, where I saw Jesus:

• A three-year-old boy, son of refugees from Burma, was playing in the waiting room at the PBA office.  His right arm was a stub, ending just below the elbow.  His left hand was nothing more than two or three deformed fingers protruding from an arm a little longer than the other.  He couldn’t walk. He scooted across the floor like a penguin with his legs stretched out straight in front of him.  He was playing with blocks and puzzles on the floor, laughing, and obviously enjoying everything around him.  When he noticed me, he looked up, his big brown eyes met mine, and I saw Jesus!
• I asked about his wife, and he told me about her ongoing struggle with cancer.  I had heard about it from other staff members at the church, but I had never talked with him about it.  Being part of the staff of a large church obviously kept him busy, and today was no exception.  When I passed his office I felt I needed to say hello. I’m glad I did.  We chatted for a while, and before I left he handed me a copy of their family’s most recent newsletter.  In it, he shared part of the journey he and his wife have been traveling, since her diagnosis of cancer.  When I got back to my office, I read the newsletter, and was blessed by the depth of their faith and hope.  As I read it, I realized I was hearing Jesus speak to me – another God sighting!
•  They expect me to be there, every week.  And, although reading out loud has never been something I enjoyed, there’s a special feeling I get reading with Edgar, and the other children, when I visit their school on Fridays.  This week Edgar read the passage much faster, and with fewer errors than the week before.  His eyes and his entire face seemed to light up when he heard me (and his teacher who was listening not far away) brag about how much he had improved!  A few minutes later, when it was time to tackle a new passage, I could feel his confidence and enthusiasm.   It was if he was saying, “I can really do this!”  When he finished reading, he looked up at me, and I saw the face of Jesus!

Let God surprise you this week, as you look for Him along the way.  “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)

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