About two weeks ago, I posted a note about a sweet encounter with a woman in the boutique I work at. It went like this:
I had the most lovely encounter today at work and it’s too good not to share. A sweet woman with a vibrant countenance struck up a conversation with me and fondly referred to me as “sweet girl” when we talked. At one point in our conversation she paused and asked me for my name.
“I’m Madison, nice to meet you,” I smiled.
“Madison, how can I be praying for you baby?”
The words took me so off guard I’m sure my face showed my absolute shock as I looked at her with wide eyes and smiled. Warmth filled my chest alongside loving reassurance as she looked at me with steady and gentle eyes. The kind of piercing gaze that speaks of heavenly places.
“I- oh my goodness, thank you for asking.”
“Oh honey, no need to thank me, this is just what I do. I see a divine encounter and I know to ask.”
She proceeded to have me write all my prayer requests on a sticky note and I watched her later type it into her phone.
Just a reminder that the goodness of God is all around us, and what an impact it makes when we ask! My heart is so full y’all. So full I had to share. 💗
What I didn’t share though was that I had been struggling recently with feeling seen by God. I was frustrated and anxious and angry, and I brought all of that to Jesus. One late night, I mentally yelled at God, pounding Him with my frustrations. “God I need guidance!! I feel so lost and so confused. And I know you have worked in my life over and over again but I can’t see that right now.” This was followed by throwing in “Lord, would you just bring someone into the store or something,” half-heartedly.
It was only two days later that this woman showed up, the spirit of God coursing through her veins and her words prayerful. She ended all she said to me by putting her hand out in what felt almost like a blessing or prophecy over my life, “Baby, God is going to take care of everything.” It was spoken with such sincerity I almost wept.
Later that day, I had another note to post.
Another God moment today!! When I first became a Christian I started seeing praying mantises all outside my bedroom. My dad made a comment about how it was like I had little guardian angels around me. Just a few days ago, I remembered this and was wishing to see a praying mantis again.
Y’ALL!! Look who showed up today 🥺
God truly knows the desires of our hearts💗
[followed by an image of a praying Mantis on the French door to my bedroom]
Weeks of feeling frustrated, heartache, and lostness was met by such sincere gentleness by my Heavenly Father. For the last few weeks, my stress has been through the roof due to some potential life decisions that would alter everything with my career path and overall life (you can read more about that in my newsletter: Catharsis). And so, I have been on a scramble to piece my life together and use discernment for the next steps forward. I brought a year of college credit into school, meaning that depending on my decisions with classes this may be my junior year of school (despite being only my second year of college), which has left me feeling a burden to make a decision.
A few days after both these events, I had another note to share.
Today, I am on a walk with my dad and he tells me, “Madison, you will never believe what happened today, it scared me so badly.”
“What?” I asked.
“I picked up your bike helmet to move it and there was a MASSIVE praying mantis in it.”
I kid you not, my jaw dropped open and I started jumping up and down on the road.
“Dad! Oh why goodness DAD!”
“It was so odd, it was so far away from the rose bushes, I moved it-”
“GOD BROUGHT ME ANOTHER PRAYING MANTIS!”
Story complete. You can continue your scrolling.
BUT HOW GOOD IS GOD!
I hadn’t told my earthly father about my praying mantis sightings or even my frustration with God. But, my Heavenly Father knew. And He said “Here you go daughter, I see you. I do. LOOK!”
And what a reminder that silence is not the lack of presence. God knows exactly what we need.
Recently, I have begun to have my “quiet time” in the living room around my family. Now, when I say quiet time, I don’t mean my Bible reading or prayer. I quite literally mean the time in the day when I just do things silently. I am what some people would refer to as an “extroverted introvert,” except I am so outgoing I think about 99% of people who meet me immediately think I am an extrovert. (A friend and I literally had an ‘argument’ about this, this past year. She was convinced it was impossible I was an introvert). But, I am in fact very much an introvert who needs a few hours of quiet tasks and time alone to recharge in order to truly enjoy my time around people. That being said, I also love to spend time with my family and it is often hard to balance needing alone time with spending time with my family.
So, I recently came up with a solution. I go downstairs and sit on the couch silently and read, write, draw, etc in my family’s presence. Sometimes if my dad is watching a movie or the news I will just sit there and do something else. In the evening, my mom has recently joined me in this and will sit and read a book silently beside me. Her silence doesn’t mean she isn’t present and there with me and for me. It just means the quiet is what I need and oftentimes what she needs too.
And it has led me to this realization: Silence is simply God’s way of sitting with us.
He is sitting with us in the quiet knowing, far better than we do, that it is what we need. If we stop trying to listen for pointless noise and instead look around us, we can see Him everywhere. Working, moving, pressing, building, and even handing us items.
What a gift it is to know God in silence! What a gracious Father to show us He is present even when we cannot hear Him. I am forever thankful for the mere praying mantis.
