A few years ago, probably in the early spring of 2011, my neighbor at the time messaged me asking if I would be interested in starting a Bible study group. My neighbor had been going through a tough time as his wife had left him and he had an impending divorce headed his way. Josh wanted to become a better Christian and had been reading his Bible a lot and then posting on Facebook some Bible Scripture. His ‘friends’ had been giving him a bad time and told him to, “Get over it…” meaning his marriage. Pastor Kevin, who I only knew from Facebook at the time, and I were encouraging Josh to continue to seek out the Lord and we both enjoyed seeing the faith build in Josh. The ‘friends’ of Josh took to calling him a “Bible Thumper” and Kevin and I decided that we wanted to be called Bible Thumpers too.
But that night that Josh sent me the message about starting a Bible study remains a time that I recall with affection. The Facebook PM came in and when I read it my thought was, “No, I don’t think so. I’m not ready for this kind of thing. I want to read my Bible on my own.”
So as I starting keying a reply my mind was saying “No, no I don’t think so” but my fingers typed, “Sure, that sounds like fun. When can we start?” After I clicked the “Send” button I read what I had typed. It wasn’t anything even close to what words had gone through my mind.
As I look back at that time a bit over four years ago I am amazed at the path that God has led me to. It was spending more time with the Word of our Bible, praying more with my new friends in the study, and a new and unique outlook on life that made my life so much more complete. Where I had been in turmoil in my seemingly endless recovery from the hit and run, with so many negative and unforgiving thoughts on that driver, sleepless nights of worry and irritable exchanges with others, I now found myself with a calming influence to negate all those bad things. God had a plan for me and He still plans my days here on earth.
If you find yourself going down a path you never picked yourself, if you have welcomed God into your heart and recognized His love for you and your love for Him, it just might be the path that He has chosen for you to follow.
