Dominoes and the Butterfly Effect

I spent most of the day today sleeping off a migraine. But the day started out very busy, and very much in keeping with what I had hoped would happen when I moved here. Once again I'm amazed at our glorious God.

I've always had a heart for keeping a home, the general nuts-and-bolts business of how you go about making your home run smoothly. And as I've gotten older, I've grown to have more of a heart for young moms who are struggling, feeling overwhelmed and drowning amidst diapers and sleepless nights. I'm not sure what to say to them -- except that I've been there, and it will pass.

So this morning I got a call from a friend to meet and chat over lunch, and I was glad to be free for that. She's a young mom who's really growing lately, and I am glad I got the chance to encourage her.

But right as I walked in the door from an earlier errand, the phone rang. Another friend -- also a young mom -- was in tears and needed me.

I find this especially interesting because of a discussion I had with the girls recently. We were talking about people we'd miss if we moved from this town. They commented that I really didn't have any friends.

Now I admit that I am not a person people readily call when they need a friend. I suppose that's because I don't generally call anyone else here -- but it was my dream to be this sort of a person when I moved here. I envisioned being able to counsel young wives and moms in the midst of trouble.

And this was just such a case.

So I dropped the phone and grabbed my purse and ran over to be there. And I prayed as I went that God would give me the right words and shut my mouth -- for the most part -- so I could be the best friend, the kind that listens.

And of course God used the time. I'm not sure how much help I really was -- but it was a chance to be a friend, a good friend. I was so glad she called.

I've never lived in a place where I have felt such purpose. In the book of Esther, that amazing woman who charmed a king and saved a people -- her uncle Morcedai asks her in 4:14 --

". . . Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this."

The economy of God is quite something. He never ceases to use an opportunity, which has a domino effect on several other opportunities. He is the Master of the butterfly effect.

And today I got to be not just one of the dominoes, but I got to see my place in the domino line. What a privilege! And I suppose that's the secret -- to just accept that you're a domino today, in the line, and your job is to just fall at the right time. God will give you the signal, and you'll do your part -- "for such a time as this."

And all this regardless of how many friends your children seem to think you do or don't have!


xoxox