A God Thing

It seems like I am witnessing "God things" more and more lately. Every time it happens, I get that same type of euphoric feeling I get after watching a moving movie like Les Miserables or after attending a Bon Jovi concert and I want to share it with others and say, "how cool was that?"

Last night was, without a doubt, a God thing...

There is a song on the radio called Need You Now (How Many Times) by Christian artist, Plumb. No matter where my mind has wandered, this song always brings me back to the moment and takes me on a journey through this past year...through the past two and a half years.

Before, when I heard it, I wished I had had that song in my repertoire while I was going through treatments. I could easily see that as being one of the songs I clung to like I did with so many other songs like Hurt and the Healer by Mercy Me, Even If by Kutlass, When Mercy Found Me by the Rhett Walker Band, and Good to Be Alive by Jason Grey.

Last night, on my way to church, I heard it again. This time, I wept, tears streaming down my cheeks and neck. The song took me back to a very particular and integral moment early in my treatment - the day I lost control, wondered how in God's name I was going to make it through six months, the moment my sister called and I broke down, when she took over my treatment and by her "bulldozing" ways, got me through those six months - a very real and very big God thing!!!

I remembered the many moments when the desperation in that song was my own. Now, I sit on the other side and see how faithful He was through every moment. I weep because I am overcome with gratitude to both my God and my sister. If she had been with me, I would have given her the biggest hug I knew how to give.

When I got to church, I sat in the parking lot drying my eyes and texting my sister. I gave her the name of the artist and song and told her to look it up and listen to it. I explained why.

I almost didn't go to church last night. I felt the rush of life and had a hundred things that needed to get done. God told me they all could wait. I needed to go.

Even though I was not hungry, I went and sat with a friend during dinner at church. I intended to go with him to a class to learn more about what Nazarenes believe. Being relatively new to the faith, it would be interesting to see how it compares with my Catholic upbringing. The topic of the new women's Bible study intrigued me, though, Becoming a Woman of Simplicity. I told Tommy I had decided to go to the women's Bible study.

I had not been to a women's Bible study in over two years. I missed the first class last week so during small group, I decided to keep my mouth shut and simply listen. However, as our time together neared the end, we started talking about sorrow and joy - we cannot know true joy without sorrow.

I thought about the absolute truth of this statement and I once again thought about the song. I began choking up and felt God urging me to share this story. I was reluctant. I don't want to be that person that always has something to say. I don't want to feel or have others feel like I need to be the center of attention.

 About 1/3 of the women in the class already knew me and knew my story. I thought about making a general statement about how true the topic was in my life, but I felt God urge me to tell the story of the song. I obeyed that still, small voice.

Once I mentioned the song, I noticed a few of the younger ladies in the group react. I wasn't sure how to process their reaction, but it made me a bit nervous, wondering what I said to cause it. Were they familiar with the song and simply acknowledging that they, too, thought it was powerful? Were they affirming my story, indicating by their reactions that they, too, have similar stories and know exactly what I'm talking about? Do they simply wish I'd get on with it already and shut up so we can all go home?

Everybody was very nice to me and after I finished, we rapped up the class and everyone started to disperse. I threw away my trash and came back for my book. A woman my age I had noticed before because of her gorgeous long, black hair came up to where I stood. She was talking with an older woman and both women included me in their conversation.

When the older woman left, the woman with the great hair asked my name and asked if I was a member of the church. She shared that she could relate to some of the things I was saying...then...she told me she was Plumb.

I know my face must have turned bright red. I turned my head and told her I was so embarrassed. No wonder the women reacted when I brought up that song. They knew that the person who wrote and sang the song I was talking about was sitting right across from me. Funny thing is, I looked right at her when I was telling my story. She looked back at me and there was no hint that there was anything out of the ordinary going on.

She told me not to be embarrassed. That had never happened before, but she appreciated what I had to say about the song. We ended up talking for about twenty minutes. She shared with me the emotion behind the song. We talked about life and how these dark moments drew us closer to Christ and changed us. I meant to ask her why she calls herself Plumb, but we never got that far. She had to leave to pick up her kids and I went to my car and was yet again stunned by the extremely unusual events of the night.

When I got back to my car, I saw that my sister had texted me back. She said she looked up the song and it made her cry, too. She even shared the song and my text with a friend of hers. Her friend is in a similar situation as ours. The friend's sister is going through some tough times and the friend is afraid of being too pushy and upsetting her sister. My sister had told her about me and how sometimes the person in crisis doesn't know what she needs and doesn't know what to ask. My text came at the most opportune time. She used it as proof that it is okay to be "bossy" sometimes for the benefit of those we love.

I immediately tried to call Tori to tell her a story she would not believe. She did not answer. I tried calling Brad, but he did not answer. I tried to text Mike when I got home to see if he was still awake, but he did not respond.

Tori finally called me back and I shared with her what happened. Before the night was over, I shared it with Mike and my parents as well.

It's not so unusual that I would meet Tiffany (Plumb) at church. I had heard years ago that she went to my church. As a matter of fact, when I tried to organize a fundraising event for my Tent City ministry five or so years ago, I sent her a message to see if she would be available to make an appearance. After all, the ministry was through the church.

However, back then, I rarely listened to Christian music. I had no idea who she was and could not name one song. I wouldn't have recognized her if I had seen her at church. I simply thought a Christian recording artist would draw more people than my non-recording artists I had booked.

I never heard back and I never gave it or her another thought until this song came out. I have only recently started to become familiar with the artist names and that is only because when I hear a song that speaks to me, I make it a point to find out who sings it.

Even still, I only know Plumb by this one song and I still had no idea what she looked like.

She said that when I brought up the song, her friend slipped her a note asking if she thought I knew she was Plumb. She said she didn't think I knew. She was right.

Now, that whole thing was pretty random, but quite obviously a God thing. I'm just not sure who it was meant for. Was it meant to give me a cool story to share in my blog? To teach me about obedience and waiting on Him? Was it meant for my sister or my sister's friend? Was it meant for the woman who wrote the song, to let her know that her ministry has purpose? Was it meant for all of us or for none of us? I'm not sure. Just happy that God let me be a part of a pretty cool piece of His orchestration.