Mysterious ways

I had a really tender, exceptional experience earlier this week in being used by the Lord as a tool in His purposes.  Perhaps not coincidentally, I had just read this post over at The Gift of Giving Life, and I feel like I was primed for it.

I had just finished a massage on Tuesday when I decided to linger after work and meditate.  I was parked on Main in one hour parking, but I knew that the meter maid is not that diligent to come back around anywhere close to an hour, if she was out, and was unworried about a ticket.  I needed the time to contemplate my business, to think about my location, my future there, and whether there might be a better place or way, and how I can start working to live, rather than living to work.  I was there until about three, and I left to go peer in the window of an open suite just upstairs and contemplate its merits.  (Pro: I'd have TONS of room for retail and even classes.  Con: I don't need that much space, and I'm certain it's ridiculously expensive.)  I came back downstairs, still feeling a need for alone time.  I checked my tires for chalk marks and went next door to Milk & Honey to order a drink and sit in their Goddess Lounge to contemplate.

I admit, I felt a little weird at first for seeking divine inspiration in there, but I decided to accept that it was a quiet(ish) space with much inspiring art and good intentions and I settled in to think.  I started to write and what came out was a beautifully affirming prose poem that truly felt like guidance.  I finished my drink, got up and decided to linger a little more and make sure there was nothing else I wanted before leaving.  I stayed maybe ten minutes, paid my tab and walked out just after 4.

I got in my car, looked up... and there was a ticket on my windshield.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I got out, picked it up and was looking for the chalk time when I heard a voice behind me.  A complete stranger had come up and said she'd seen the entire thing and was willing to vouch for me that I didn't deserve the ticket.  She was under the impression I hadn't been parked there that long (I'm not sure why, because I had), she had watched the ticket being written, and she wanted to write up a testimony for me to fight it.  Well okay then!  I took a picture of my un-chalked tires, and followed her into the salon where we exchanged information, and she--upon seeing my business card--decided to schedule a massage for the next morning, and she would bring her witness statement.

The next morning, as I'm going through the massage, I mention something and somewhat randomly she asks if I have children.  I say no, that I haven't found the right man to have them with.  She said she was sure I'd find someone wonderful, then asked a minute later if I went to church.  I said yes, and mentioned that I've been going to a "singles congregation" for almost a decade.  She paused and blurted out in a surprised voice, "Are you Mormon?"  I said I was, and she told me that she was a "non-practicing Mormon."  Well!  That was a surprise.

What followed was a conversation about how she had come into the church through her previous marriage, but she had lost her testimony through some dark times and hard experiences.  However, after about eight years, she was at a point where she was really thinking about coming back, just wanting to at least walk into a meeting and attend.  I told her she would know when she was ready, that the Lord knew her and knew what she was going through, what she had gone through, and He would be ready for her return.  She confided that this time in her life had been foretold in her Patriarchal blessing, but that it would end, and she would rise out of it.  She still strongly believed in that blessing.  Toward the end of the massage, she tearfully asked me to pass her information on the the missionaries.  I asked if she'd like to be on the temple prayer roll, and she agreed, gratefully.  She left afterwards, looking so happy and hopeful.  I called the missionaries a few hours later and passed on her information.  I haven't heard yet how it went, but I am hopeful, myself, and optimistic.

I feel very strongly that the Lord wants this daughter back.  There were 3 or 4 times when I could have made a different decision--gone home, moved my car, paid sooner--and I never would have been in the place to meet her.  I thought at first it was just the Lord delivering me a new client and some much needed money at the end of the month, but I have no doubt that what I received on Earth pales in comparison with the sweet experience and possibilities brought about through matters of Heaven.