Listening

I want to share with you an experience I had at church recently.  I realize that usually only half-Christians sit in the back at church, but that is where I sit.  I sit in the back in case my attention deficit problem causes me to want to flee.  I also sit there because I like to sing loudly, but most people around me don’t like me to sing loudly.

Anyway, I was sitting in the back doing my best to pay attention.  However, the missionary speaker had followed a rabbit trail but had not invited me along on the journey.  Therefore, my ears and eyes were wandering.  I noticed that something was causing a small commotion in front of me between a teenage boy and his parents.  I began to pay attention, and I found myself eavesdropping … er… people-watching.   The mother was writing her son notes and encouraging him about some issue.   I think I read the words ‘you’ and ‘missionary’ though I suppose it could have been ‘you’ and ‘monastery’, but that seems unlikely.  I’m not a very good spy. Apparently, the boy had felt a tug in his heart and wanted to be involved in missions.

Memories of my own foray into missions filled my mind, and I couldn’t help but feel somehow strangely connected to the situation.  The church was large, and there were about a thousand people in the auditorium.  What were the chances that this family would happen to sit in front of me?  I felt compelled to chat with them for a few moments after the service and give the boy my contact information.  Now, contrary to popular opinion, I am not always outgoing and assertive.  In fact, believe it or not, I have mellowed drastically in the past few years.  I thought to myself, “These people are going to think I’m nuts.”  I followed the family out of the sanctuary and into the large hallway.  They took a few turns; I followed.

In my head, I was having a wonderful conversation with God. “God, this is crazy.  I am a stranger to them, and they’re going to think I’ve fallen off the moon.”  Rather amused, God said, “You can fly half-way around the world, but you can’t go say ‘hello‘ to a perfectly nice family?”  There were several people in the hallway, and I soon lost sight of the family.  “Okay,” I said with a smile, “If I see them as I am leaving I will talk to them.”  I turned the corner to go to my car, and there they were.  Isn’t God funny?

So, I introduced myself to the boy, told him who I was, and invited him to send me a message using my website.  I didn’t talk to him very long, but it seemed to me that I had indeed read the situation correctly.  He seemed genuinely encouraged by my short visit.

When I hear about young people searching for God’s purpose in their lives, I am always reminded of an experience from my past.  A few years ago, I was standing around a church construction site in Niger, and a visiting American pastor was with me.  He said with a broad grin, “You know, when I was a kid, I felt God calling me to missions… but then I grew up.”  I stared at the pastor in disbelief.  I couldn’t believe he had said that, especially surrounded by missionaries.  I’m still not exactly sure what he meant.

Hopefully, that young man I met at church never grows up.  God is calling.  I wonder if we are listening.