It's the God Show!

What happened today is one of the clearest examples I’ve experienced of how even the unpleasant, uncontrollable moments in life—those we might first perceive as negative—are often God’s direct will, gently steering us toward doing His Will, which is always for our good and the good of others.

Not only did I find something meaningful to offer up—for the reparation of my sins, for my healing, and for the healing of those I love—but God also used the moment to place me exactly where I needed to be for a dear friend in her time of need.

I had reached the point in my day when I needed to “get off my spine,” as I call it—that occasional moment when lying down becomes necessary due to the lifestyle adjustments I’ve made since I began suffering from arthritis in 2020. I had just arrived at an outdoor Pentecost party, celebrating the birth of my Church.

As I entered the house, I began organizing my things—umbrella, purse, "fanny" cushion, etc.—and settled onto the sofa. Then I decided I wanted to return to the car to grab my laptop and get a little work done while I rested.

As I stood up and picked up my umbrella (which I use for sun protection), for the first time ever, it suddenly sprang open and knocked over a plastic cup filled with clear soda that I hadn’t even noticed. The soda spilled across the coffee table, soaking stacks of important papers and quickly seeping down into the center divide, where it reached books, pens, and the floor.

I rarely have accidents like this, and I immediately feared how much damage had been caused. Over the next 15 minutes, I crouched down, gathering sticky papers, laying them out to dry, removing soaked books and supplies from the table, and cleaning everything with towels and wipes. The process made my hips and lower spine ache even more.

When I finally finished, I lay down on the sofa to ease the pain and decided to check my phone messages while I rested. The first message I saw was from a close girlfriend who has been suffering both emotionally and physically over the last month. She had left me this voicemail:

“Hey sweetheart, it’s me. It’s about 10 minutes to 4. I’ve been alone all day. I’m kind of going berserk so I thought I’d give you a call. All right, bye-bye honey.”

I called her back immediately. She’s an older widow who lives alone, and when we spoke, she shared how lonely and physically unwell she was feeling. We talked as long as she needed. We caught up, shared about our weekend, and then prayed together. By the end of the conversation, she sounded much better and at peace.

What struck me afterward was the timing: I had listened to her message just minutes after she’d called. My phone had been on silent—as it usually is—and I hadn’t planned to check it anytime soon. But because of the unexpected accident, I was forced to stop everything and lie down, which led me to check my messages at just the right moment.

She had never reached out to me like this before, even though I had been gently encouraging her for months to call when she felt overwhelmed. Today, she finally did.

Thank You God for spilling the drink!