We are blessed to have Rachel stop by from time-to-time to make comments here at the Spiritual Oasis. My relationship with her is different from what I share with most of you, because she is a member of the church where I serve as the senior minister. She is truly devoted follower of Jesus. She loves her family with the love of the Lord and I’m glad to say that she is an excellent Bible class teacher.
A few days ago, under the subject of “It Really Is All in God’s Hands”, she sent me an email describing a traumatic experience she had gone through. I asked her if she would mind if I shared it here. She graciously consented.
I wanted to share this story because I believe it speaks to something that is, in my estimation, very important in our lives. Some people call this the providential working of God, others think of such things as the consequence of walking in step with the Holy Spirit. I think of the times in which we tangibly experience the presence of God in our lives as God sightings.
After you’ve had a chance to look at this, we’d like to know if you’ve had any God sightings in your life lately. If so, we would love for you to share them with us. It seems to me like this could be a great way to bless and encourage one another in kingdom living.
Here is Rachel’s email:
Yesterday afternoon, I was driving home from work, and I decided to return a library book that I had in my car. As I approached the left turning lane for the library in Hockessin, my car was struck by a rock on the driver side with a force that rattled my nerves. I looked quickly in the direction it had come from to see several boys looking at me, and then they took off running as they realized that I knew that they had thrown the rock.
I pulled in calmly, returned my book in the book drop, and called the police. The boys were all hiding on the side of the library as they were unsure of my intentions, but at one point, they came around the corner, realized I was on the phone, and took off through the adjacent park. Little did they realize that I had been purposely sitting calmly so as to take mental photographs of each one of them, and I was able to give their descriptions to the police dispatch.
After I was told the police would be out, I walked towards the park to see if they were still hanging out, and I was told by a woman in the park that 6 or 7 very nervous boys were talking excitedly and ran into one of the houses adjacent to the park. The woman was even kind enough to mention that the boy in the orange shirt lived in that house.
Obviously, God is in every situation, but in the next 5 minutes, He really showed Himself to me. A woman pulled into the library parking lot in a minivan, and she was looking into the park. At this point, I was on my cell phone with Ed, and two of the boys ventured back to the edge of the little bridge that connects the park to the library parking lot to see if I was gone. Well, again, they turned tail and ran, and I hollered to Ed in the phone…”they just came back and took off again.”
Well, the woman in the van heard me on the phone and came over and asked me what happened. I explained, and she took off into the park calling out a name of one of the boys. She came back a few minutes later after not catching up with them, gave me her name and address, and said she was going to get the boys and be right back.
Amazingly, she knew all of them, and one of them was her own son. I had thought they ran because they saw me when they came back that second time, but it had been because the one boy saw his mother, who just happened to be checking on the boys since she knew they were hanging out at the park.
Sure enough, twenty minutes later, she showed back up with 4 boys in tow. The other two had already gone home with their parents, but she knew their names, and I identified what they were wearing and it was confirmed by the boys. The boys that were with her were easily identified, and they admitted they threw the rock and heard it hit my car. The mother of the one boy who had retrieved all of them gave me her name and information and told me that they would all make restitution.
She and the boys stayed and waited with me for the police. The police showed up an hour later, and had a stern talk with the boys about the potential accident they could have caused me had I been alarmed by the rock hitting my car and driven into oncoming traffic. He then told me that I could press charges and have them arrested on the spot for criminal mischief.
At that point, Ed was there as well, and we discussed it and opted not to press charges, as the mother was willing to go the lengths she did as well as express her willingness to pay for the damages. We felt that the Lord had intervened and given us more than we could have asked for, and this may present an opportunity for us to witness to these boys and this family.
Have you had similar experiences? If you would be willing to share them, I’m sure they would be a blessing to many.
Blessings to all,
-bill
spiritual oasis blog 
Compared to Rachel’s story, I have two rather inconsequential ones to share, but not inconsequential to the God I serve! Both of these occurred when I was living in Houma, Louisiana some 10 years ago….
My best friend had recently moved to Morgan City, and I was driving her son and mine over to drop him off. The boys were young: 18 mos +, and it was an early spring day, so I had the windows rolled down. We were stuck in traffic to cross the large bridge over the intercoastal waterway. All of a sudden, a thought entered my brain: Kiersten, what would you do if a bee entered your car – right now? I sat in traffic and began to plot my response. I noted that there was no shoulder to pull over onto (swamp on either side of the road). But up ahead closer to the bridge, I saw a small office complex with a parking lot. I thought it through as I waited patiently (boys impatient) in the car. Not more than 5 minutes had passed when a huge wasp flew into the back windows of the car, scaring those little boys to death. I looked to make sure there were no cars in the on-coming lane, then calmly drove to the parking lot I had spied. I got out of the car, opened the back doors and shooed the bee out. I then calmed the boys down, re-entered the car – and rolled the windows up for insurance! Sounds silly, but I truly believed God prepared me in advance so that I would not panic when the children did!
My second ‘God moment’ came at a CPR training session. My husband’s employees had to take their annual CPR training class, and he invited me to take the class with them. Honestly, I did not want to go. In fact, on the morning of the class, my son woke up cranky and sick, and I almost called in to cancel. But I felt that nudge from the Spirit – I needed to go. After dropping off the little one at a friend’s home, I went to the office to attend the class (understand – there were only two women and the rest were roustabouts – a tough kind of crew….!) The instructor was a beautiful, petite woman with the manner of a drill sargent. She obviously had had lots of experience working with large groups of men and had them all listening and practicing with little comment or snickering. She was remote and professional. I sat there in the back of the class asking God, “Ok, I’m here, and I don’t see any fire to put out….did I come to the right place?”
At lunch time, I brought my sack lunch indoors and ate in the classroom. The men all gathered around outdoors. The instructor was also with me. We began to chit chat – I admired her ability to handle the guys; a door of communication was opened. Next came pouring out her a story of an abusive relationship that she was in and could not seem to leave. I asked her if she minded my praying with her. She looked unsure but said to go ahead. I prayed for her protection, discernment, safety, and especially to know how much God loves her. I explained to her that God loved her so much, that he sent me to her class that very day – just to let her know. I also explained to her that His love might seem unfathomable at the moment and strange (coming from me), but one day she, like I, will remember this moment of God knocking at her door…..I never saw her again, but I knew I had planted the seed by being obedient to the Spirit. – AMEN!
peace+
kiersten
Thanks for sharing these stories, Kiersten. As I think about them I’m reminded of the words of Jesus: “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (cf. Matthew 10:30) It never ceases to amaze me how God works in our lives!
You know, Bill, y’all’s stories remind me of so many things I’ve experienced in my life in many different ways. I’d be writing the rest of the day if I tried to enumerate them all. I think the most important thing we can do to “invite” God sightings in our lives is to be aware. Be open and inviting to such sightings. That way we can recognize them for what they are.
I’ll share two brief ones. The first I wrote about back in August over at Grace Notes in a post I called “Bag Lady Blues” about a young man helping me in the parking lot of a grocery store as I stood there with a cast on my left leg and a grocery bag over my head to stave off the drenching rain. He was not only a “Grace Note” to me, but providentially sent, I’m positive.
The second story happened a year and a half ago or so when someone (unbeknownst to us) slashed one of our tires while we were over on the Mississippi gulf coast. We were coming home rather late that night and I was driving on the beach road, rather than the Interstate, which was unusual, but pertinent to what happened.
The tire blew out while I was doing about 45 mph as we entered Pass Christian. I pulled over and as we got out on the dark road, a young black man pulled up right behind us and took charge changing out the flat tire for us, which Tom couldn’t have done because of his health, really.
He said he’d been across the street at the gas station and saw us pull over. He also said that he was an off duty police officer there in Pass Christian, but he was not in a marked car at all.
In fact, we did not see where he came from, nor do we know how he got across the road like he did coming from the opposite direction or anything about him. We tried to pay him, but he refused any money or anything.
I felt then and still do today that he was an angel from God who showed up in the middle the night when it was very late, very dark, and we could not manage for ourselves. Plus, I feel we were providentially guided to be there on the coast highway rather than the interstate going home (the much more logical and much faster way to go) because if we’d had the blowout from the cut tire doing 70 mph we could have been killed. Also, we would not have had the help of this young black man who came out of nowhere, knew exactly what to do and started doing it without any questions or asking of permission. He just did it and saved us immense grief and hours of waiting for a tow truck and help.
I don’t know what y’all think about these two stories (you’ll have to read the full “bag lady” story from Grace Notes in August archives), but I feel like they were both God sightings in MY life.
Thanks for the post, Bill, and Rachel, I agree with you that it was no doubt a God sighting.
Cheers & Blessings today to you all! Dee
I’m sorry. I told y’all wrong. I wrote Bag Lady Blues last July over at Grace Notes. So click on it if you want to read the whole wet, miserable with a happy ending tale!
Dee
Well, Bill, as you know, God showed up again! I wanted to share what has happened since the incident. I met the mother last week at the library parking lot, and she handed me a check for the damages and another small envelope as well. She indicated that it was from her son, and that he wanted me to know how sorry he was. He didn’t come with her because he was embarassed, but I asked her to assure him that he was forgiven that day of the incident when he admitted his guilt and gave me his solemn apology.
As we stood talking, another lady came out of the library and got in her car right beside us. She proceeded to back out, and she called out her window to us, “God bless you!” I replied, “Thank you, and God bless you also.” She pulled out of the parking spot and drove a few feet up the driveway, and then she stopped, got out and walked back to us. She turned to the woman I was speaking with and said, “God loves you. He wants you to know that.” Then she turned to me and said, “God put on my heart to remind YOU (looking right at me) that He holds you and all things in the palm of His hand. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of Christ. Remember that!” And with that, she was gone. It was a blessing, and it was an opening for me to share a little bit about my faith with this woman who had come to make things right. I also let her know that her son and his friends were welcome to visit our youth group at church anytime.
Yes, there is more! I needed some cash at the library to print some pages that my son was typing up for a report, but I didn’t have any in my wallet. When I opened up the envelope from the woman’s son, there was an apology note enclosed as well as a small amount of cash that he wanted me to have to spend on myself. The Lord provides for us in ways we least expect. Isn’t God so good?!
Something that started out bad, God quickly turned for good and for His glory.
Thanks, Rachel, for adding to this. Life really is all in God’s hands. Again, thank you so much for sharing this story with all of us. -bill
Wow. That’s amazing that the women has those words for you. Talk about people using their gifts boldly!
Mine is not very well written really, but it happened this week, so fresh on my heart.
There are many! Too many to count. Reading other people’s stories remind me of my own “divine encounters”! We need to share these stories more often! Thanks for the starter, Bill!
Wow! Interesting comments and thoughts everyone.
Maria in the UK
http://www.inhishands.co.uk
Great stories and encouraging ones! I think one of the great surprises to be revealed in the afterlife is just how involved God (or his angels) was in the miracles of timing in our lives on this earth. So I prefer to give him the credit whether or not I can prove it or anyone else will believe it.
Bill, great comments and shared stories!!
As said above, there are so many, really too many to recount here and I’m looking forward to those God has awaiting me in the future!!
You call them God sightings, I call them God’s surprise parties. 🙂
There have been vignettes – those times when God has shown how He draws His children together with golden threads – what non-believers call coincidences such as moving out here on the prairie where I knew only one small family. However, the day my membership was announced at my church I received a 1/2 dozen calls from former Californians welcoming me. Among them a woman from, like me, San Diego.
As we talked we found that among our closest of friends, we shared one in particular – a friendship that should have brought us into each others view in San Diego since we both consider him ‘best friend’, but no, we had to move out on the prairie and end up in the same church [out of over nearly 200 in this small city of 150,000] to find one another. It was out here that the LORD brought us together and gifted us with a rich, humorous, loving friendship.
That same Sunday afternoon there was a knock on the door and I heard the voice of a young man asking if I lived there. He announced his name. He was the older son of my former preacher/minister/pastor from the first church where I had worshiped in San Diego. This 10 year old was now a junior at ACU, and in a few months was a married man. Wow! God didn’t see fit to give us a reunion in San Diego, rather out here on the prairie where we’d least expect it. Another of God’s surprise parties.
But the most astounding experience with God Sightings is told in my story about Michael. You can read our story here – an entry on my blog titled “Jesus and Baseball” 🙂
http://beauangelkitty.blogspot.com/2006/09/jesus-and-baseball.html
So many that have enriched my life, surprised me, encouraged me. But all the praise is the LORD’s – His love for us is expressed in these surprise moments and I’m so grateful to Him for them!!
A few years ago, we confronted a young man who had broken into our church several times stealing equipment. His mother asked me to come over to their home as a brand new DVD/VCR Combo had suddenly appeared in her son’s room. When I arrived I was able to identify it as part of the stolen equipment from our church.
Myself, a fellow elder, and our minister confronted this young man at his place of business to which he quickly confessed. To make a long story short, there were many in the church calling for this boy to be arrested and brought to trial. After this young man came before the church to ask for forgiveness we concluded that it would have been highly inappropriate to have him arrested and so we chose the “go and sin no more” route.
I’ve since lost track of this young man but as someone from our church put it, “No matter what he does in the future he cannot say the “church” put him in jail.
Thank you for sharing this with us. God is always present.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Hi Bill,
New reader from Niki Nowell and Bobby Valentine’s sites…
My “God sightings” are wordy, but – I think – worth the read. They’re two pretty different scenarios, familiar to us all.
1. Seeing God in Hindsight
&
2.Seeing Him in Everyday Life
Blessings,
Heather
Welcome to the Spiritual Oasis, Heather!
You travel in good company, that’s for sure. Niki and Bobby are two of my favorite bloggers. I really enjoyed both of your posts, especially “Seeing Him in Everyday Life”! Hope you will come back often and comment freely!
Blessings,
-bill
Well my sighting had happend a few years ago while my father was sick with parkinsons disease. My father and I had returned home from town, I went into our living room to turn the television on and on the T.V screen etched in the summer dust that clinged to static on the T.V was the face of christ. I was quite shocked and asked my father if he had done that as a joke, but he insisted that he had not done it. Not too sure as to the meaning of the appearence but it was a memerable happening for him and I. Could anyone give me some meaning for that sighting???
thank you for your wonderful stories very uplifting.
I have a god sighting to. We had our christmas drama at church this weekend. We had the drama two nights . The first night 2 got saved the second 4 got saved , we also had lots of rededications God showed himself in a big way that night. one of the people that got saved the second night was amazing. my friend and i went to kroger to get food for the dinner after and her and her grandson were on the side of the road broke down , we asked her if she needed help. she said no someone was coming to help. we said ok and invited her to the play and dinner. she came and she got saved. how cool is that. god is good all the time god is good.
I was about 20 years old when I had the most unuasual experience of my entire life. My older brother had past away several years before from a car accident. My other brother was home from the military and it was getting late. I was living with my mom and dad at the time. I decided I was going to sleep in my mom’s room because she worked overnight and her bed was very comfy. My bed felt like sleeping on a sheet of cardboard spread out over wire springs. So I crawled into my mom’s bed and got comfortable then realized I had to use the bathroom. The bathroom was in my mom’s room. My dad always left the kitchen light on every night. The light illuminated from the hallway and illuminated my mom’s room slightly. I thought in my head time to get up. I was looking at the bathroom with nothing else on my mind when a shadow absorbed the light from the kitchen. I seen this out of the corner of my eye and when I looked to my left it was walking along the side of the bed. At first I thought it was my brother that was home from the Army. I waited for the bathroom light to come on to rest assure that it was only him using the bathroom. The shadow walked toward the bathroom and my eyes lost it. I looked around the room to find it again and there it was at the foot of the bed standing over me. It was so clear I was able to see the outline of the arms torso legs and knuckles of the hands. I still thought it was Todd my brother getting ready to jump on the bed to scare me so I raised my foot back to kick it. Then it rose up from the floor and disappeared into the cieling. My heart was racing and I started praying and left the lights on all night. At that time of my life I was living in sin drinking on the weekends and having premarital sex. I told my mom about it and she thought it was my brother that died in a car wreck watching over me. I didn’t have the feeling that it was a goog presence in the room that night but am still not sure what it was. I know to this day what I saw and it was no dream no imagination but the real deal. I think that the night I saw that has changed my life to this day. I am now a christian. -Scott from Oklahoma
Beginning May 1,2010 An image of Christ has been visiable in our home in the wood grain of a door to an office where my husband meditates daily.
Friends and family have veiwed this image as well as our Pastor. We have been trying to have some News stations run this story. So far they have not given us their time. I guess in these times no one want’s to acknowledge that we are still getting messages that we are not alone.
This is no scam,I am a retired case manager and my husband is a Auditor for the State of Ohio. Feel free to contact us to judge for yourselves. We have photo’s of his image, but as you know photos can be doctored. Seeing is believing! We have been featured on abc ” Good morning Columbus,” as well as TV28
Thank You In Advance for your time.
Brynda and Shelton West
614-759-7072 bwetconsultant@aol.com
http://www.myfox28columbus.com/newsroom/gdc/videos/vid_341.shtml
This is todays interview with another station 28 Fox
click on site and than click on JOHNNY SEE”S JESUS (Thursday’s) on right hand colum
http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_4213.shtml