This is Mary Hill
I have been studying Acts chapter 10 of the story of Peter bringing the Gospel message to a Gentile man named Cornelius. Oh, the miraculous behind-the-scenes preparation for that encounter to take place is almost unbelievable! How in the world could such an exchange take place? The hurdles seemed unsurmountable. But God. There is no doubt that every vision, thought, prayer, plan, and step was orchestrated by Him.
Somewhere in the undercurrent of my thoughts, that encounter lingered with me through the following days. And then I played golf with my friend Mary and all of a sudden it resurfaced. As we drove silently in the cart from one hole to the next I considered our connection. But God.
In 2014 her then-husband reached out to me to create some custom lighting for their beautiful Rancho Bernardo home. To me, just another job. I had no idea that the beautiful woman who strolled into the shop to watch us produce the work would one day become a dearly trusted friend and partner in ministry. How it came to be is no less a miracle than that of Paul and Cornelius.
I think sometimes we think that the stories we read in the history book of God’s beautiful Word are stories that can never be told again. They are all “one-of-a-kind.” That all the important things that needed to take place have already taken place and today we’re all just drifting on some current in some ocean. Okay – I won’t argue that some of them are. But most of them are not. Most of them are stories that are nothing more than examples of the method of God’s operation. What He did in others’ lives – He is doing in ours. Those Biblical realities are at the very least and most, spiritual, and physical realities for us. And because of that, examples of what we ought to be on the lookout for.
I’m not even sure it’s worth the effort of telling the story of how Mary and I came together, but I will say this – it was all about a lightbulb. That’s it. Years had passed and then one day it was nothing more than a lightbulb and a phone call at the most unlikely time at the most needful moment.
Sovereign intervention in our lives. Nothing’s changed with God. He’s still at it. We’d do well to keep our eyes on Him. Because watching Him show off is a real encouragement to keep on serving Him. And nothing matters if we are not.
