PNG End of Year Celebration-Day 5: "Not What We Expect!"

Life doesn’t always look like we thought it would.

Lillian’s evangelistic talk is a good example.  As part of her new staff training, she was to prepare and give an evangelistic talk, covering her own testimony, the gospel, and offering to pray with those interested in receiving Christ.  Lillian invited the girls she was discipling and those her girls were discipling to attend the talk, each bringing a non-Christian friend with them.  All was set.  Then at the last minute the talk had to be rescheduled.  By being given at this later date, I was able to attend...but none of the non-Christian friends.  At the last minute, Lillian had to adapt her talk to girls who already were Christians and who already knew her, yet still covering the points needed in order to complete her training.

It was not what Lillian had envisioned.   

It reminded me of Mary laying baby Jesus in a feeding trough.  I’ll bet it was not what she had envisioned when she was praising God in Luke 1: 46-55.  But God had.  The manger was the clue the angel gave to the shepherds to find Jesus.  The heavenly host were glorifying God because of Jesus coming...and lying in a manger.  There was no heavenly, “Oops!”  Mary had done nothing wrong.  In fact, I reckon she was being creative in making a baby bed out of a manger.  A humble feeding trough turned out to be the baby bed for the Bread of Life.

After her talk I sent Lillian this text message: “The love and light of Jesus was shining out of your eyes.  You spoke from the heart, which is contagious.  If I was one of your girls, I’d want to be just like you!”