Last Thursday morning I woke to another cloudy sky. I had to get to West Fallowfield Township’s monthly meeting by nine, and I knew I’d never have time to walk beforehand. As hot as its been in the Atlantic community (I think it hit 88 degrees last Wednesday), I figured I’d be riding my stationary bike in my dank basement later that evening. I dreaded it.
While driving home after the meeting I noticed blue sky to the west. I took my chance and walked. The only clouds I saw during my hour-long walk were white cumulus clouds.
The sky opened up an hour after I got home. Cool, heavy rain pelted against my windows. If I’d waited even an hour, I’d have lost my chance to walk outside, feel the refreshing breeze cool and dry my skin, and soak in the beauty of tangerine day lilies and periwinkle chicory.
Sometimes life’s like that. We have one chance to do something, and we’d better take it. I had one chance to enroll in Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild in 2007. Their two-year online writing course taught me to write for publication. I’m so glad I took that opportunity, despite the obstacles I foresaw. The main ones were three and one at the time: my daughter and son. I had to hire a sitter for a few hours a week so I could write. But the outcome of that experience has blessed me beyond measure.
The Christian Writers Guild went out of business five years ago. If I’d put it off, I might never have had the chance to learn to write anything but research papers. And who cares about my analysis of Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud?”
Sometimes that’s all we get in life: one chance. One opportunity to interview for the job of our dreams. One opportunity to go on a date with the spouse God had in mind from the foundation of the world. One time to make an offer on a house before it goes on the market. One chance to contact someone God has laid on your heart. You never know what might happen if you do; or what might happen if you don’t.
Your surprise visit might be the reason someone puts a gun down. Or your call may be the delay that prevents a friend from getting into a car accident. Your text could be the inspiration to take the next step toward fulfilling a dream. Or you could just happen to be in the right place when someone desperately needs companionship, encouragement, or a listening ear. You might even lead that person to salvation. You just don’t know.
If you’ve ever felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit, you know what I’m talking about. It may come in various forms. It could be an idea you can’t stop turning around in your mind; a feeling you can’t shake; a yearning you can’t extinguish.
Now, sometimes we convince ourselves that we need to do something when it’s not actually God leading us. It could be an obsessive thought, something I’m all too familiar with. But it also might be the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NIV) In other words, when you feel that nudge, that nagging thought, act on it. It may be the only chance you have to achieve a purpose only God knows in advance. Just something to think about.
All God’s blessings to you this week.