"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
Throughout the years, when phone calls from my daughter begin with the opening line, ”Have I got a story for you,” I tend to hold my breath and brace my mother’s heart for what I am about to hear. Often, they are hilarious stories. Frequently, there is some element of shock, and repeatedly, her dog tends to be the main character in her narratives.
However, when the routine “Have I got a story for you” call came last week, instead of wiping away tears of laughter at the conclusion of her story, I was wiping away tears of a momma’s joy as I learned how she allowed the Lord to use her in this particular situation.
She began her tale by explaining that it was payday, so she decided to treat herself to a trip to a favorite salon that was a considerable distance from her Chicago apartment. When she arrived, the wait was much longer than she expected. Mentally, she wrestled with the decision of should she wait, but concluded that it would be pointless to drive all this way for nothing, so she stayed.
Exiting the salon almost an hour later than she had planned, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a car that was quickly approaching her and franticly honking the horn at her. Confused, she cautiously stood still until the older woman driving the car lowered her window so that she could speak with my daughter.
“Can you please help me?” the woman begged as she began to cry. “I am supposed to be at a very important doctor’s appointment, and I am so incredibly lost right now!” She continued to introduce herself as “Connie” and explained that she was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. She explained that she was on her way to seek a second opinion from a highly respected specialist but could not make sense of the route that her phone selected for her.
As my daughter asked for the address that Connie was trying to locate, the woman surrendered her phone to Kristine, stating, “These directions just don’t make sense, and I feel like I’m just driving in a circle!” Deciding to switch her navigation system to Google maps, my daughter asked Connie to dictate the address to her, and as soon as Kristine entered the address into Connie's phone, the phone battery died, intensifying Connie’s panic and tears.
Now the jury is still out if this was the safest decision, but at that moment, my daughter took charge of the situation and said, “Connie, I’m going to pull out of that parking spot, and you are going park your car in my parking spot. I will drive you to your appointment, and your phone can charge in my car while we drive."
Dutifully, Connie followed those exact directives. As they drove, Connie continuously expressed her gratitude, stating, “Oh Kristine, I just can’t believe you’re doing this for me!”, to which Kristine replied, “Connie, I believe God puts us where He wants to use us, and you are very fortunate that I decided to get my eye brows done today or I would never have been in this area!”
During their journey, the conversation included topics of faith and family.
Connie even encouraged for Kristine to meet her single sons, to which Kristine replied, “Connie, we don't have time for that! Let’s just stay focused on getting you to your appointment!” When they finally arrived to the address that Connie had instructed Kristine to enter into Google maps, they found themselves staring at an industrial park. It was very apparent that something was extremely wrong. Kristine searched the doctor's name and realized that Connie had missed a small detail of West instead of East, and again, Connie was so grateful for Kristine's help. When they finally located the doctor’s office, Connie’s phone battery had a significant charge, allowing Kristine to enter the address of the parking lot that held Connie’s car so that she could Uber back to it. Kristine also instructed her to text her if the appointment ran long so that Kristine could remotely continue to add money to the parking meter. Three hours later, Kristine received the joyous message that Connie had successfully reunited with her car!
What a sense of relief it is when dire situations involving something lost are resolved in a positive and successful manner!
This week is an extremely important week in the church calendar known as "Holy Week", and just like Connie, God knew that because of our sinful human nature, we were also incredibly “lost” and in need of a "rescuer". As a result, He sent Jesus, His One and Only Son to be our Savior, rescue us from our sin, and get us on the right road to Heaven. Connie had various alternatives to find her way to the doctor's office; some of those avenues were extremely confusing and misleading. However, Scripture makes it extremely clear that only through our faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection, we now have the gift of eternal life, as well as the peace that comes from this gift of salvation. Only through Jesus, the lost are now found!
As we focus and study Jesus’ journey to the cross this week, may your heart be touched by His incredible love for you! He will never leave you stranded or abandoned because He loves and cares for you!
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
Mrs. Palka