How do you let God work in your life?

In 2007, Linda Rohrbough was invited to a luncheon in Amarillo, Texas, a six-hour drive from where she was living at the time. Her writer friend Jodi Thomas was hosting a best-selling author and distinguished editor, and encouraged Linda to stay the weekend and meet them. Linda arrived late the evening before, and so did Jodi, coming home from a long book tour. When Linda came downstairs the next morning, Jodi was busy preparing food and looked exhausted. Linda worked alongside her, but before everything was ready, they had a houseful of guests.

In the living room, writers gathered around the famous author and editor as if being told the secret password to getting published. Linda faced a dilemma: should she continue helping with the food, or start networking? She had given up the weekend to meet the best-selling author in particular, one of her all-time favorites, Debbie Macomber. Perhaps Debbie might even give her some advice about breaking into the fiction market . . . . Linda turned back into the kitchen and told Jodi to go greet her guests; she’d take care of lunch. Listening to her heart, she surrendered her expectations to God.

What started as helping to get the food served, ended with helping to clear it away, and Linda had barely spoken to either of the luminary guests. Resentment and frustration could have gnawed at her throughout the afternoon. She had not been pro-active in advancing her career. Of course, she felt some disappointment, but since she had surrendered her expectations, she didn’t have as far to fall. In her heart, she was glad to have helped her friend, and in her mind, she was sure God would see to her writing.

After the last business card was exchanged, guests said their good-byes, well-fed and inspired. Linda dried her hands on a damp dishtowel, not looking forward to the long drive home. Jodi thanked her profusely for pulling off a seamless luncheon, and then asked if she wanted to join her and Debbie for a tour of Amarillo. Well, Linda accepted.On their outing, Debbie told about her long-term struggle with weight gain. She felt it was a roadblock in her faith, something that God wanted her to fix, and yet she failed, time and again. With the excitement of a child doing show-and-tell, Linda shared her story of losing more than 140 pounds with the Lap-Band®. She was even working on a book with her surgeon, Weight Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band. Suddenly it seemed that God was connecting the dots.

Debbie wasn’t sure about “the Band,” however. Besides, wincing at the word ‘surgery,’ she believed she needed to defeat the demon of weight gain herself, alone. Eventually, she put her trust in God and surrendered control, asking Linda to become her ‘coach.’ Linda shared the information she was collecting for her book and gave moral support for years, under sworn secrecy. In return, Debbie helped Linda with her writing and endorsed her work. A trusting friendship formed.

Debbie has lost over 80 pounds, and the roadblock in her faith is gone, allowing her to see God at work in her life through other people. She revealed her secret in her 2010 book, God’s Guest List (see Chapter Three), and now Linda can speak openly about how they met. In the book, Debbie tells the story of that fateful luncheon when Linda sacrificed her expectations, surrendering to God’s will, and He opened a glorious door in both their lives.--Sara Goff

God has a way of allowing us to be in the right place at the right time. I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen, and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing were the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting,frantic scuffling, and tearing of fabric. Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked.

Should I get involved? I was frightened for my own safety, and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn't I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?

Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the girl's cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast. How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don't know where I found the moral courage and physical strength---but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed. I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.

"It's OK," I said soothingly. "The man ran away. You're safe now." There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement.

"Dad, is that you?" And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Katherine.

We don't always know before we begin the result our help will have on others

Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address,thanked him and drove away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole

The Power of a Hug

This is a picture from an article called
"The Rescue Hug". The article details
the first week of a set of twins.
Apparently, each were in their respective
incubators, and one was not expected
to live. A hospital nurse fought against
the hospital rules and placed the babies
in one incubator.

When they were placed together,
the healthier of the twins reached
out an arm over the sister in an endearing
embrace. The smaller baby's heart
stabilized and her temperature rose
to normal.

Let us not forget to embrace
those whom we love.

The sound of the bell

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you
stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite
amazing....

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind.
His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a
good home for him. This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it
comes from the smaller horse inthe field. Attached to the horse's
halteris a small bell. Itlets the blind friend know where the other
horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the
horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that
the blind horse will listen for the and then slowly walk to where
the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each
evening,it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the
blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just
because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us
when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing
bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the
guide horse, helping others to find their way....Good friends are
like that...You may not always see them,but you know they are
always there.Be kinder than necessary, everyone you meet is fighting
some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....
Leave the rest to God