Signs of a Caring God
I dreamed one night an angel flew over Point Park, where three rivers merge. It blew a trumpet, sounding God’s authority over Pittsburgh. This was the evening before I was to go to there for the 2004 General Conference of my denomination.
After I arrived, I looked out my hotel window, spotted the park in the distance and wondered if it was a sign.
That year I was the communications coordinator for the prayer team at General Conference, which met in the sparkling new David L. Lawrence Convention Center. There are 12 million United Methodists globally, with probably a thousand in Pittsburgh for those two weeks. The prayer team transformed a ballroom into 12 worshipful prayer stations, quiet corners of rest and contemplation for delegates from around the world.
The first guy I spoke with was from Singapore. When he saw my name badge, he said, “You’re the one who sent out all the prayers to us.” That told us both we were part of something bigger than ourselves.
Another surprise awaited. An angel mounted above the entrance to the massive ball room matched the one I saw in my dream the night before, a sign God loved this quivering branch of His church.
Pastor Bev, a western Pennsylvania minister, sent an email this week describing how God comforted one of her parishioners who visited the prayer room 15 years ago: “I met with a family today for a funeral and asked if there was a Scripture or anything they’d like. The woman hesitated, then said the 23rd Psalm brought her peace in the past, and told me this story.”
In 2004, the woman saw a doctor and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She walked around Pittsburgh, trying to process all that had happened and remembered hearing that you should recite Scripture when you don’t know what to do. The 23rd Psalm was the only one she knew, but as she started to say it in her mind, she realized she didn’t know the words.
Her ride to Pittsburgh that day was a volunteer at General Conference, so she wandered around there, waiting. She found the prayer room area, and entered. She didn’t know where to go, so she chose the first quiet place. It was the 23rd Psalm prayer station, covered with images of the psalm, written in many places. She said she suddenly knew God had her and her situation under control. For her, it was a life-altering moment.
Sounds like a sign to me. I don’t seek after signs; they simply appear. Some things are best left for the heart to ponder.
Pastor Bev’s email arrived late Sunday night as I rummaged through notes, searching for inspiration for this week’s writing. My search ended when she said I could share it. Sensing God guiding us doesn’t mean problems disappear. Rather, it’s like lifting your eyes and seeing a lighthouse in the misty darkness, signaling One has gone before you and prepared the way.
Last week I prayed for a Ugandan student, a young mom facing a mastectomy. I fretted beforehand, struggling to release her into God’s hands. Picking up an outdated copy of The Upper Room magazine, I flipped it open and saw that a breast cancer survivor wrote the meditation on the page before me. The key verse said be strong and courageous, not afraid nor discouraged, for God is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9).
St. Peter urges us to cast all our worries on God, because He cares about us. When it was time for my friend’s surgery, I was there. Her pastor was too, and repeated Peter’s words, praying for thankfulness in all things. My first reaction was, Thankful, for this? Then I thought of the many caring folks surrounding this young woman and gratitude welled within.
She was thankful, too, marveling, “Never would I have imagined this!”
Author Graham Cooke noted, “Contentment is the outward expression of an inward glory. Choosing not to worry is actually an act of worship. We cast all our burdens onto Him because we trust His great heart toward us.”
In the hospital waiting room, I opened my laptop and a random screen saver popped up with a mountainous photo of Uganda. In my pocket was a leather key fob I received a year earlier, painted with a Ugandan map.
Coincidences, or signs that God cares about every fracture in this broken world?
IRMC Women’s Center and UPMC’s Cancer Center, by the way, are great helping people battle this disease. It is no small thing to help a mother live long enough to raise her child.
That’s my prayer for my friend. Please join me.
And pray for our churches. The times are dark, but every sign says God is good.
All will be well.
(Graham Cooke’s powerful quote was accessed from Facebook, 2-19-13)
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