“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.” – 3 John 2-3

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It’s once again Open Enrollment time for enrolling in a Health Plan. During this time I assist people in choosing the best Health plan option for them.

While in the public work settings I do not openly proselytize. I do not hide my faith but I am discreet, looking for God’s leading. (Perhaps a little too “discreet”?)

Recently, I was serving as a broker in an Enrollment Site located in a town library. There were three Enrollment Specialist employees manning the site. They work with the customers to complete their application before sending them to me to select a plan. The three employees obviously had worked together for some time and I could tell they were supportive friends.

When I first walked into the site I heard some beautiful and familiar music playing. I thought it was piped in from the Library but then realized it was coming from the woman named, Sandy’s phone. It was worship music from a popular Christian artist I had just been listening to in my car. I declared, “I love this song.” With that our familial connection in Christ was established.

Early in the enrollment period there is some down-time and it became clear to me that Sandy was taking time to share her faith with Justine. Justine is a young, single Mom to a young boy. She had to break family ties with her dysfunctional and abusive parents – now on her own and struggling to make ends meet. Sam was boldly and openly sharing her faith with some intimate details. I have to admit it was awkward for me. It seemed forced and uninvited – an imposition.

Still, I tried not to judge and prayed that God would use it and occasionally I jumped in to comment in support of the Gospel message Sandy was sharing.

As the 2 ladies were talking I heard Justine share that she did not know how she would even have the money to buy her son a gift for Christmas. The light went on in my head. I had purchased a gift for someone’ s child last Christmas. I thought the child was a boy and bought a robot toy. It turned out that the child was a girl so I had to get something else. (Forgive me for my politically incorrect use of pronouns) The robot sat in my garage for this past year collecting dust. I was planning to bring it to my church this Christmas for a wonderful inner-city youth ministry that gathers Christmas gifts for the parents to give to their kids.

But, now I knew who it was for. The next time I came into the site I brought the gift. At the end of the day I asked Justine to come outside with me to my car. She immediately thought she had done something wrong. I assured her that I just had something to give to her. She came out and I gave it to her. She was so excited. I said a quick prayer and told her that God loves her and has even greater gifts in store for her and her son.

Justine walked away beaming as I drove off. Later, I was stunned to hear that this was the first gift her 3-year-old son will have ever received. Little did I know that this was one of a sequence of events that God was revealing His love to Justine in support of the Gospel message that Sandy had been sharing.

The Greatest Gift

The next time I was in the Site, it was very quiet – no customers. Sandy sat next to Justine and shared her testimony giving intimate details of her own experience being beaten and abused by her father. Again, it was hard to hear. While it was not the way I would share, it was the full Gospel, and it was resonating with Justine.

We gathered together for lunch and Justine began sharing how through Sandy’s Christian community her needs kept being met. Sandy had been inviting Justine to her home church but while she was considering it, she would not commit. As we talked we reviewed all her recently met needs and it all seemed to crystalize for Justine into the reality of God stepping into her life. I said, “Justine, God keeps showing up in your life, so maybe it’s time for you to show up? Why don’t you go for a visit to Sandy’s church?”

With certainty she declared to even Sandy’s surprise, “I’m definitely going this Sunday!”

Several weeks later I returned to the Enrollment site. I had continued to pray for Justine and had little doubt that she was on her way to entering into a trusting relationship with the living God.

When I did return to visit the enrollment site Sandy was quick to share the news that Justine had invited Christ into her life. Awesome! We celebrated with a big high-five.

What did I learn from this? I learned from Sandy that I don’t have the market cornered on how to share the Gospel and that my boldness to share the Good News lies somewhere on the weak-end of the scale.

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase;” – Proverbs 3:7-9 

But, what a joy of being used as a bit player in God’s plan to work across church lines through the larger likeminded Christian church! The only thing Sandy and I shared was our mutual relationship in Christ (and a few good worship songs) and that was all God had to use to extend his love to meet Justine’s desperate need to know a Savior.

What else? Was God a year ahead of me when He used my confusion to buy the “wrong” gift? When I’m knocking myself in the head for getting the gender wrong, God had a plan for it – to use the gift to help break the door open to His ultimate gift.

“Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.” – Isaiah 61:7

This makes for a truly joyful and Merry Christmas!