When Jesus Sends You To The Restroom

My family and I were over at Brooke Bay* church one Sabbath afternoon helping out at the church’s light supper.

“I’m gonna go use the restroom, Mom,” I said.

“Okay,” Mom said.

I went down the church hallway, and walked into the women’s restroom. After I exited one of the restroom stalls, I saw an old woman washing her hands. I maneuvered myself to the other sink on the other side of the restroom.

Unfortunately, the faucet didn’t work.

So, I went to the other sink that the woman was just finished using. As I washed my hands, the woman was drying her own hands with a paper towel.

“Hi honey, what’s your name?” she had such a sweet, clear voice–almost like little wind chimes tinkling in the wind.

“Aleah,” I said. “This is my first time at this church.”

“Oh really? What church do you normally go to?”

“Hollington*”

“Oh I’ve heard of that church,” she began to hobble her way to the door, her cane pecking the floor tiles. “I’ve always wanted to visit but I’m always busy with helping this church…”

I was already done washing and drying my hands, and I followed my new friend to the restroom door.

Opening The Door To A Crippled Woman

“Oh dear,” the woman said. “I always have trouble opening this door.”

“I can help you open it.” I said, grabbing the cool metallic doorknob and pulling open the door.

“Thank you, dear,” she said. “The Lord sent you here to help me, He knows I have crippled hands so it’s really hard for me to open doors on my own.”

I smiled, my heart touched by her words.

I never would’ve thought that Jesus would send me to the restroom just to help this woman with crippled hands.

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A week later, the same situation happened again.

But in a very different way.

So, as many of you might’ve noticed, this blog was having technical difficulties, so it couldn’t be accessed for awhile. In a sense, Learning To Live had temporarily “shut down.”

And for me, all I could say was that I wasn’t very happy over the whole issue. I honestly felt sad and frustrated because I couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

After scouring through various solutions on the WordPress forum, I finally found one solution that was fairly feasible.

Contacting my web host.
[NOTE: if you don’t know what a web host is, click HERE to read the definition]

A Chat With Chivan

I went to my web host’s website and I went over to their tech support page. In no time, I was live chatting with one of my web host’s support specialists. His name was Chivan*.

As I told Chivan about the technical difficulties with my blog, I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper a thought into my mind:

This might be the only chance you have to witness to this person.

And as I was waiting for Chivan to fix up Learning To Live, a realization hit me like lightening:

Could the only reason why God allowed my blog to shut down was just so He could use me to plant a gospel seed into Chivan’s heart?

As I thought over these two things, I realized that God allowed Chivan to help me with my blog, and I in return was allowed by God to help Chivan with his soul’s salvation. It wasn’t just mere coincidence that this guy just happened to be my support specialist.
This was a divine appointment.
A DIGITAL divine appointment.

During the next ten or fifteen minutes, as Chivan was fixing up my blog, I began to seriously pray.

God, I prayed silently. What do you want me to tell Chivan? What sort of gospel seed do You want me to plant into his heart? What do You want me to share with him?

Opening The Door To A Crippled Soul

After earnestly praying to God and asking Him what HE wants me to share with my support specialist, God whispered the answer into my mind.

Amazing Facts

Amazing Facts? I thought. Are You sure God?

Yes, Amazing Facts, God gently whispered back in my mind.

Eventually, Chivan texted back that my blog was fixed. He sent me the link just so I could see it for myself.

After happily looking through Learning To Live–completely restored and back to normal–I texted him back a message similar to the one below. With my heart beating like crazy out of sheer nervousness, I sent him the message, praying that God will take care of the seed I just planted.

I just checked my site, and it’s working perfectly! Thank you so much for fixing it!
By the way, here’s a website I think you’ll enjoy. It’s called Amazing Facts. Here’s the link: https://www.amazingfacts.org
Thank you again so much for fixing my blog! God bless!

I immediately left the chat room, trusting in God’s promise:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

(1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

I did my part in simply planting that little seed, now I’m praying God will lead Chivan to someone who’ll water that seed. And I trust God will do it in His own time and way.

A Parallel

You know, dear reader, as I think back over these two experiences, I can’t help but see a little parallel.

When I went to Brooke Bay church, in a literal way, God sent me to the restroom to help that woman open an actual door.
But for my support specialist, God sent me to the restroom of trial of allowing my blog to shut down, just so I can help Chivan open “the door of faith” (Acts 14:27).

And I’m seriously praying he will choose to walk through that open door.

Opening The Door To A Crippled World

But dear reader, there’s another door that’s also open. It’s been open for 2,000 years!

This door was opened for each one of us by a nail-pierced hand. It was the hand of Jesus, whom God sent to the restroom of this world, to open wide the door of salvation to a whole human race who’ve been badly crippled by sin.

That includes you and me!

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, the door of salvation was opened wide for you and me!

Have you walked through that door yourself, dear reader? Have you invited others to walk through that door of salvation? If you want to walk through that door, dear reader, and want others to walk through it as well, then just pray:

Amen! Maranatha!

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*For privacy, names of people and places have been changed