There’s a little gathering going on today over at Robin’s Little Bits of Life blog to discuss Beth Moore’s new book, Get Out of That Pit. I learned about this from Boomama. Since I haven’t read the book (and don’t have time to now), I may lurk a bit and see what everyone’s saying about it.

On a different topic …

Last night I went to a Ladies Night Out banquet at my church, along with about 400 other women. And something weird happened. Twice.

I had a reserved seat at a table, thanks to my Sunday school teacher. When I got there (a few minutes late), there was only one seat left at the table. To my right was my Sunday school teacher, who is one of my mentors. Her five kids are mostly older than mine, and I hang onto her every word because she is one of the most JOYFUL people I know.

To my left was a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. We’d met in a Bible study about seven years ago, but then she and her husband had moved to a different church. Anyway, it’s one of those friendships where the gap between then and now closes in about two sentences.

After a while, I asked her if she’d read anything good lately (always my favorite topic), and she said, “You know, the Lord has really convicted me about reading lately. I’m just a book-a-holic. I love books! But then I felt like I wanted to read other books more than read the Word. So right now, I’m only focusing on the Bible. It’s great. It’s so refreshing. I can’t wait to get up and read the Word every day.”

Wow. I felt like someone had just splashed a bucket of cold water right in my face. In a good way — like wake up, girl, and see what’s really important. We then talked about the Bible — me confessing that I’ve gotten bogged down in the Mosaic Law in my reading, and she telling me what she’s been learning about the New Testament church. Oh, I love having a friend like this.

Then! (in a rambly mood today) …

We got split up from each other. After the banquet, we all needed to move from the fellowship hall to the sanctuary because our speaker needed room for PROPS. Some women went to wait in a ridiculously long line at the restroom. I decided to stop at the speaker’s book table, you know, to see what books she had available.

After a few minutes, I sauntered alone into the sanctuary, which was packed. Several people waved at me, but I was in sort of a daze and kept walking toward the front. I looked over to my left, about three rows back — and there was my old friend I’d sat next to at dinner with a spot for me next to her. So we had another chance to talk again.

This time we changed topics, and I confessed to her that my husband and I have been thinking about thinking about moving — closer to his new job. When I mentioned the part of town we were considering, she burst out, “Oh! That’s right near [such-and-such] church. You will HAVE to go visit that church. The pastor’s sermons are incredible — you’ll be spiritually Blown Away.”

The very weird thing is … that church sounded familiar … and I wondered if it was the same one where some of my college friends attend — friends I don’t get to see often, but our kids are the same age, and we talk on the phone every now and then.

This little seed was planted. About that church. Why in the world, of all people for me to sit next to twice, did I find someone who KNEW about that church?

So I called one of my college friends this morning, and I had this little fluttery feeling in my heart, like I was scared to ask. Scared to be disappointed. But I did. “Um … I was just wondering. What church do y’all go to?”

THAT church.

So I told her we were doing some online house research around that area, and she proceeded to tell me why we would LOVE that church and all the people who go there, many of whom I already know. “This church will be great for your ministry,” she told me. She also said, “You know, the Lord has put you on my heart the past few weeks, and I’ve been praying for you, Heather. I didn’t know what it was about, but I just started praying for you. I even told [my husband] about it. Well, now I know! You need to move here!”

So there’s my two weird things … actually three:
— sitting next to my friend who says she’s not reading any other books besides the Bible and feeling WHOOSH! The Holy Spirit whispering to me.
— her later telling me about this fantastic church
— talking to my old college friend this morning who also goes to that church, and her telling me she’s been praying for me.

I wanted to blog about it — because if I don’t write it down, I’ll forget it. I absolutely HATE moving — having strangers walk through my house, realtors in my driveway with their cell phones and “a client” when you’re sitting down to eat. Big decisions. Contracts. Money. Scary stuff.

But these three weird things, bits of conversation, are like seeds. Something has been planted. I have to learn to trust God to water those seeds if they’re to grow. The verse from Luke 1:37 comes to mind: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

P.S. A percentage of proceeds from last night’s banquet went to support Alzheimer’s research. Here’s a picture of me helping out at our local Memory Walk a few months ago. I had the Very Important job of blowing up balloons and tying them to this sign. (Hat tip to Carol, who blogged about her Memory Walk in Texas).