Creeeeeepy!

Have you ever gone to church and come away believing that God definitely had something to say to you? Or that things that were said and did during the service mirrored what had been going through your mind recently?

That happened to me yesterday.

When I say God spoke to me, I don't mean that I think the service was tailor-made for me only and that God didn't also speak to others. Let me explain...

Our friend, Barry, preached yesterday and I'd been asking him for the last couple of weeks what he was going to preach on to which he kept telling me, "Wait and see." Well, of all the topics or passages he could have chosen, it was one that had been dominating my thoughts particularly for the last weeks but really for the last couple of years.

Forgiveness.

I've been reading a book called The Peacemaker by Ken Sande which I'm finding to be a tough read. Hence, I'm reading it slowly because I'm feeling rather delicate as it opens up some old wounds. The night before, I'd been reading a chapter which was about Matthew 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. And Barry used that exact same passage in his sermon. It was a good talk and relevant for everyone, not just me, but at the end when I felt like I was going to cry, I turned to Duncan and whispered, "God sure wants me to keep hearing about forgiveness, doesn't he."

That wasn't the only strange thing that happened yesterday. In my recent post, Replaced, I mentioned a lady at our church who plays the piano week in, week out. Well, yesterday the service leader publicly thanked her for being faithful in serving us this way. 'Faithful' was the exact same word I used in my post. I didn't write it to suggest that no-one had ever thanked her because, for all I know, she could receive regular thanks but I know what it feels like to be unappreciated. So it seems like the service leader was thinking along the exact same lines as I'd been thinking recently.

From these happenings, I can draw some possible explanations:

• People at my church have been reading my blog.
• People at my church have been reading my mind (ok, I seriously hope not. That WOULD be scary!)
• God has been placing the same things that have been in my heart on the hearts of others.

It could quite possibly be a combination of the first and third options. I believe nothing is a coincidence with God.

Have you ever had an experience like this?