I had occasion recently to be in the beautiful, cathedral city of St Albans one lunchtime. My initial plan had been to go somewhere else that day, but the St Albans opportunity came up at the last minute and I really felt I needed to take it. The weather was good and the city centre, though not hugely busy, still had numerous Mums pushing little ones in prams and retired couples out window shopping or enjoying a leisurely lunch al fresco.
Coffee time was calling me, so I popped into one of the many coffee houses in the city. There were two servers at the counter, and I felt moved to bless them both in some way. I suddenly remembered there were a few beautiful cards in my bag, artistically designed with some uplifting scripture words creatively incorporated into their design. Asking Holy Spirit which card to give each server, I approached the main server in a quiet moment and explained how I wanted to bless her and her colleague and had asked God specifically which card He wanted them to have today.
She seemed touched by this and, reading the scripture words, said “This card is certainly the one for me” The picture on the card also seemed to be specially meaningful to her. The other server was busy as I left, but gave me a warm smile and thanked me for leaving the card for her to read later. The whole encounter was very brief, but I trust that powerful seeds of Life were planted in the soil of their hearts that day.
Sitting on a bench outside, I felt that I needed to go on to the Cathedral next – and not necessarily the inside. As I walked around the exterior lawns, my attention was drawn to a figure sitting under a tree, writing or reading something. I couldn’t tell at first if this was a man or lady or what age person this was, as they had their knees pulled up to their chest and a baseball cap low over their forehead. I still really felt I needed to go over and talk to them. I could now see this was a young lady, possibly mid-twenties or so. I’ll call her “Maggie”. I commented on how nice a spot she had found, and she readily replied, seeming happy to talk a little more. I gently probed further about what she was writing and she seemed to know it was okay to tell me something of her current situation.
To say it was tender ground that we were walking on would be an understatement. This dear one’s mother had passed away only a month earlier, after a long illness. The letter she was writing today was connected to this. There were other strands to the conversation around family difficulties and how different siblings were processing their grief. I promised Maggie that I would pray about all these situations and family members, but especially for her today, as she writes her letter. She was very thankful for my offer to keep them in my praying.
We touched on her own faith, Maggie telling me that she did used to have some belief years ago, but life had taken a toll on what faith she had, and she wasn’t sure she believed anything now. Even so, she was impacted by the fact that a stranger had taken the time to come over and be kind, to listen and care about her. She was surprised, too, to hear that Jesus had specifically directed me to come to St Albans and to this very spot on this very day - all to show her that He loves her, knows her whole situation and wants to help her in every possible way.
We also talked about the sacred space that a dying person inhabits, where the Spirit of God is moving and His angelic activity is released as that precious one’s life is almost ready to leave the earth realm. She acknowledged this about her own Mum and drew comfort from it.
I left Maggie a card with my contact details and, thanking me warmly for helping her, we farewelled and blessed one another as I left. Please do pray for this precious young lady.
Not too long after meeting Maggie, I noticed in the distance a lady on a bench in another part of the grounds. Upper sixties kind of age, just sitting by herself, quietly. As I saw her, I felt I heard the two words “health upgrade”. Going over and asking if she was enjoying the peace and quiet, she commented on how she likes to come aside from the bustle of city life and just be calm. We got into conversation, and I heard some of her story. Her name is “Deborah”. A gentle soul with a soft voice. She had lived in St Albans many years, raised her family there. Life had taken some painful turns for her, but she spoke very fondly of her two children, concerned for them still, though they are adults now.
Deborah then told me a catalogue of health concerns she is currently going through that are stealing her energy and joy. Time to tell her about the special encouragement I had heard from the Heavenly Father about giving her a health upgrade! She was so surprised.
Deborah used to have some level of faith in the past, and still believes there is “something out there”, but has drifted far from God being current reality for her. Another family member had tried to get her interested in the spiritualist church. She had gone there once but instinctively felt uneasy and that she shouldn’t get involved with it.
She was very happy for me to pray for her and afterwards said that she had felt deep peace and was very moved by the things I spoke over her. I could see tears in her eyes, where Jesus had lovingly put His finger on things she needed to hear and experience today – including physical restoration. A beautiful, gentle encounter. Deborah told me that when she had seen me in the distance, she had said to herself “I hope that lady comes to talk with me. There’s something about her that seems lovely and kind”. Now she knows that the kindness she had noticed is JESUS in me – and He’s the very One who sent me to her!!
Draw her on towards you, Jesus, ever closer and closer, until she knows beyond all doubt that she is Yours, and You are hers, forever and ever.