A dear friend recently helped me immensely with a big project I have been working on.  I could never repay her for such willing input, but I nonetheless wanted to give her a token of my gratitude in the shape of a pretty gift. 

I feel that Holy Spirit dropped the idea in my mind of going to a particular store that has a beautiful selection of notebooks and look there for a gift for my friend.  There were several different notebooks that caught my eye but one in particular seemed to be specially “highlighted” to me, though I wouldn’t have said it was pretty, exactly– it was more exotic and bold, with a black background and vibrant, oriental foliage and birds on the front.  But I still felt it was calling out to me!  

As I was wrapping this gift, there were other gifts I needed to wrap at the same time for some other people and I wondered if I had chosen the right gift for my friend or whether I should swap it with one of the other gifts!  I can’t say I prayed out loud about it, it was more an inner request of “ohhh, which one, Jesus?”  I quickly had an inner sense of “No, don’t swap it - for whatever reason this “exotic” notebook is the right choice for my friend””. So II stuck with it and wrote her name on the gift card straight away!  Later that day I gave my friend her gift as we were leaving the same venue together.

A few days later I caught up with my friend.  Apart from being very grateful for her gift, she had a story to tell me about it that is pretty crazy!  

Unbeknown to me, my friend had been recently struck by the plight of people in a certain restricted Asian country where poverty is rife and support very limited.  She hadn’t had any connection with this country before but she really felt stirred to explore how an income generating project might be set up to help them earn their own money, rather than be dependent on scant charity.  She began to talk to Father God about it in her praying.  My friend discovered - through another person who “randomly” came across her path soon after she prayed! -  that bamboo grows profusely in this country, often just getting cut down and going to waste on the ground before more sprouts up again.  My friend’s thoughts began to focus on what could be done with this bamboo as an income generating resource, particularly given the popularity of sustainably sourced bamboo socks!   Her praying then became specifically about Asian bamboo.

What I hadn’t realised when I picked out the notebook was that, on the back, it had been titled by the designer.  The title of the notebook? - – Asian Bamboo !!!!!  Seriously, you couldn’t make it up, could you??!!  Holy Spirit knew it all along and highlighted that specific notebook for me to pick out, then nudged me again to make sure I didn’t give it to someone else at the last minute (!) but only to my friend, its rightful recipient. I don’t know who was more encouraged – my friend or me!  Together we marvelled at the goodness and sheer genius of God to connect dots together in the way that only He can, to encourage, direct and affirm us in the very path He has in mind for us. A path that will bless and help many others, as this bamboo path surely will in the fullness of time.

In this season of gift shopping, whether in store or online, I hope this story encourages you to ask Holy Spirit to be your personal shopper too!  Let Him nudge you towards items and ideas that only He knows will connect to their recipient so meaningfully  - even prophetically.  Who knows what the ripple effect might be??!!

So, happy prophetic shopping to you - and please make sure you don’t swap your gift choices at the last minute, unless He prompts you to, of course!