Silver Linings

I heard a story today in church that pretty much sums up the thoughts I have been having lately. The story was about a girl flying back from a mission trip in Africa. She sat next to a man and they began to talk. She asked him what his trip had been for a mistakenly thought he said a worship conference. She was so delighted that she began to share in her interest of the Lord, only to realize he had been there for a business conference and had never heard of the things she was telling him about. His jaw dropping as she told him that she had spent her time there healing the sick, prophesying to all, and worshiping Jesus her Savior. He asked to know more and so she gave him her Bible and he read for hours on the flight back. When they arrived home he said that he wanted to prophecy as well. She said of course, but first you must have a relationship with Christ. He eagerly agreed and she prayed not only for his salvation, but for the gift of prophecy and for the anointing of the Holy Spirit!

As you can guess this touched my heart and every persons in the congregation. Something that it also made me realize is that this wonderful event came from a mistake. The girl misunderstood the man and this lead to his conversion. So many times in life I feel like a mistake, an accident, or something done wrong can lead to a beautiful outcome and discovery.

For example this weekend I accidentally out my cell phone in the washer with my clothes. I was so mad at myself and couldn't believe how dumb it was of me to have wasted a perfectly good phone by not paying attention. It hasn't even been over 24 hours and I have realized God allowed my to make that mistake for a reason. He wanted more time with me. I never have noticed how much time I spend on my phone and how much I depend on it. Driving from place to place I call family and friends, I use it for music when exercising, and constantly text, email, fb message, and call people from it. As I walked around feeling like I was missing a limb I began to notice things. In the car I listened to KLove and began to pray. Then today I went for a run and instead of hearing music through my earphones, I heard the creek trickling by, the birds chirping, the wind blowing, and squirrels scampering past. I felt like I could here God saying Ashlee I wanted you to see what you've been missing. I began to pray again telling the Lord how overwhelmingly beautiful he creation of nature was and how thankful I was for this new vision. I then went to church with no desire to check my phone of the time or to text. It was so revealing.

Now I know this mistake wasn't huge, but I hope it is a small example of how God, in His infinite power, can bring good out of any situation. No matter what has happened to you or how bad it seems, look for the light and it will overwhelm you with love and compassion. For His grace is sufficient.