Purchasing a gag gift in the mall opened the door to a kingdom encounter for two ladies! The Holy Spirit has a great sense of humor.
Yesterday afternoon I was picking up a surprise gag gift for A.T. Hargrave’s 30th B-day party last night. I braved the crazy Christmas crowd at the mall so I could have a very special picture printed on a mug for A.T.–I photoshopped A.T.’s face on to a televangelist body along with some witty comments!
While I was getting this gag gift made, two ladies approached the printing kiosk and asked the printer if their project was done and ready to pick up. He told them it would be a few more minutes. The ladies where in a rush and weren’t too happy about having to wait, so the printer asked if I could wait on my project and let him finish out their order first. I said, “Sure. No worries.”
The ladies were grateful, and we struck up some small talk while they waited to for their order to be done.
One of the ladies asked what I was having made. So I hesitantly–and with lots of explanation and laughs–showed her the picture. As I did, wouldn’t you know it, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about a condition in her body. I thought, No way! Holy Spirit, you have a sense of humor using a gag gift to open the door for a kingdom encounter.
So I turned to the two women after a little more small talk and said, “Hey, do either of you happen to have this condition,” and I explained the neck injury I was sensing. Both ladies-a mother and daughter-said yes. They asked me how I knew that. “Well, I get pictures and impressions, or sympathy pains, for people from time to time.”
The daughter said, “I know about that! I get stuff for my twin sister.”
I just smiled and asked, “Do you mind if I pray for you?”
“Yes! Please pray for me and my mom.” The daughter h explained that she was in a lot of pain, about 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. I prayed for her, and the pain went down to a 2. I told her if it could go from a 6 to 2, it could go to a zero.
She held her mom’s hand as I prayed again. This time she felt a jolt run through her body. “Mom! Did you feel that thing that went through my body?” The mom said she didn’t, but the daughter said with surprise that all the pain had left.
“This is why things turned out the way they did. This is why we had to wait for our printing, or we would have never met you. Could you also please pray for my mom?”
As I prayed for the mother, her pain diminished, and she kept saying, “I feel so much better.” They were both grateful, and it was funny watching the printer as we prayed. He kept looking back as these two ladies who were experiencing healing.
I was just shaking my head thinking, Holy Spirit, you are always at work, even when I’m getting a gag gift for a friend!
Remember the Kingdom of God is always at hand no matter what or where. Our job is to look, listen, and respond to his activity, even when you’re getting a gag gift ; )
