of the cross and little old ladies

It's 18 days away from my wedding. I am nearly going crazy with just thinking about all the things I have to do. Why does planning a wedding have to be so difficult? Why can't it just be like the old days where if the preacher was in town, you got married on the spot? Oh all right, that would be rather anti-climatic. But it would save money and give me less to think about... hmmm... Wait a second, snap out of it!

Joey and I have attended Morrow Gospel Church for the past two Sundays, and are fairly certain that we are going to make it our home church. Our reasons: the gospel is preached and the Lord is glorified. Isn't that what church is about?

Anyways, yesterday the congregation (and the speakers, I'd imagine) received a healthy reminder to pick up our various crosses and follow Jesus. The cross is a symbol of rejection, scorn, and separation, which would seem to be unfit for respectable Christians (SARCASM). What so many Christians (myself included) have trouble with is this very concept of alienation. This doesn't just mean that Christians separate themselves from the world by walking through a special doorway once a week. It means living a completely radically different lifestyle than the rest of the world. It means nearly collapsing under the crushing weight of a jagged, bloodstained cross with no one to share the load and spittle streaming down your body. I despise the comfort that this culture preaches.

I was at a loss as to exactly how I've been carrying my cross--to the world I look no different, I'm sure. God, what must I do? How will they see? His affirmation and challenge came from a little old woman eating all alone in a cramped, homely diner. I didn't even notice her, didn't even see her face. Suddenly I felt hands on my shoulders, felt the warmth of someone leaning in close and whispering in my ear, "God bless you for praying in public. It is so good to see. Don't you ever become discouraged and stop doing it." I murmured as many thank-you's as my stunned brain would allow and stared at Joey sitting across from me. What just happened? A complete stranger separated herself from the world to encourage two young Christians to remain separate. God used her to show me that being faithful in the little areas of life is just as important as the big areas. He showed me that carrying my cross starts with something as simple as bowing my head in a busy place and praising God for His provision.

That lady mirrored the face of God to me today. She was faceless and strange, and she was following the leading of God. He moves in mysterious ways.