A History with God
Dr. Mary C. McDonald
There are moments in time when reason steps back, and wonder takes over. They are those times when you can sense a thread of wisdom that tethers you to the heart of God. They are those times when you step back and say, “Did that really happen?” I experienced such a time while I was on vacation at the beach.
It was almost sunset, my favorite time to walk along the beach. It is like a spiritual experience when the water is so calm and the beach so quiet. As I walked along the Gulf, I picked up tiny tar-like balls of oil that had washed up, and put them in a paper cup. I thought I’d take them home to my grandchildren. Perhaps they could use them for ‘Show and Tell’, or a Science project. It was a piece of history they might like to see. As I looked down, I saw a bright green object sticking up in the sand. I thought it might be a toy shovel that had been left behind that I could use to scoop up the oil. I leaned down and pulled it up from under the sand. It was a bright green nylon wallet. I thought it might be a child’s, but I opened it up and saw that it was packed tightly with credit cards, club memberships, a drivers license, and more money than I thought anyone should carry without a security guard. I had a heartsick feeling for the owner, and the panic he might be feeling to have lost his wallet, and he would have no idea where to look for it.
I walked back to the hotel and spoke to several people at the front desk, and in the security office. No one by the name in the wallet was registered at the hotel, and no one wanted to hold the wallet in case the man returned. The man from Atlanta, who owned the wallet, could be anywhere, but he wasn’t at home; I called.
I started calling hotels at the beach. After fourteen “no one by that name is registered here” responses, I finally heard an operator say, “I’ll connect you.” A man answered in the middle of the first ring. “Are you Mr. Smith” I asked? “Yes, yes,” he said quickly. “Did you lose something” I asked? “My green wallet”, he answered. “It had everything in it, everything”, he said. He went on to describe everything in the wallet, including the amount of cash. “I have it”, I said. “Thank God”, he whispered, “thank God.” I gave him the directions to where I was staying and told him I would meet him in the lobby.
My husband and I had just gotten off the elevator when we saw a man who looked like the one in the picture on the license run in the front door, a little boy running with him. I called his name and he rushed over and said, “I’m Gene”. I handed him the wallet. He hugged me and said, “Thank you. I have been praying all day to St. Paul to find it!” “St. Paul”, I said, do you mean St. Anthony?” “St. Anthony!” he exclaimed, “That’s right!” “No wonder I couldn’t find it! I should have called my mother to check which saint. She knows all the saints. She has a history with God.” “ I am sure the saints take messages for one another”, I assured him. “You can thank both saints.” I smiled at his faith, but it was his words about his mother that night that tethered my heart to God: “She has a history with God.”
We all have a history with God, whether we realize it or not. I have a history with God that I have thought about many times since that night. It is a history that says, “don’t worry; I got your back; it’s under control; it will turn out for the best; let me comfort you; you should listen to Me once and awhile; I forgive you; be patient; I am always with you”. God and I, we have a history together. He was with me in the prayers at emergency rooms, hospital beds, and fearful situations. He and I shared the crises and heartbreaks of family members and friends. I have a history with God in my friendships, at work, in classrooms, in meetings, in decisions, in having the courage to speak and act when silence and inaction are much easier. We have a history, God and I, in the choices I made, and in the blessings or crisis that followed. I remember the times that I thought that there was no way out of a situation, and God made a way. I remember when I thought all was lost, everything was over, and then God showed me that it was really just the beginning. I remember the times that I said, “Not I, Lord, choose someone else”, and then finally did what I knew He was asking. That’s part of God’s history with me. He gets a little resistance from me every now and then.
I believe that you have a history with God also, especially when you don’t feel it. I am sure that you have been through a void and back. That journey you took through fear, illness, death, depression, unemployment, loneliness, divorce or disaster was with God, whether you realized it or not. You have a history together. So why worry now, when you know that His history with you will last forever? You prayed, He delivered you. You had a problem; he solved it, in His way and time. You were troubled, and He came to your rescue. You sinned and He forgave you. You were sad, and He comforted you, lonely and He sent someone into your life. In your suffering you understood what He went through for you. You have a history, you and God. It is prayer that tethers your heart to God, and love that writes that history.
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