The Case of the Missing Wallet

I am trying to be more discerning of the Holy Spirit's voice.  My motive is simple: #1--I want to help people.  #2--I want to see the miraculous.  With that in mind, I am taking more risks when it comes to acting out on what I think the Spirit may be saying.  It's sad to say--but I'm still a rookie when it comes to the work of God--I'm just starting to learn.

About eight months ago, I was visiting in the home of some friends who are part of the foundation of Grace River.  As we talked about church, health, and life, Mrs J brought up that she could not find Mr. J's wallet and that she feared that she had accidentally thrown it away in the trash.  Anyone who has ever lost a wallet knows the crisis that this is.  A wallet contains numerous important items that cannot easily be replaced: drivers license, credit cards, medical cards, etc.  Since I'm practicing hearing from God, I took this as a great opportunity.  I love Mr. and Mrs. J dearly and I've found that love is a really good platform from which to hear from God.  I could empathize with the loss of the wallet and the distress that Mrs. J was feeling.  And so, with love in my heart and love in my head, I simply asked the father quietly under my breath to let us know where the wallet was.  I assured God of my love for the J's and my love for Him and that it would simply be wonderful if He would release Mrs. J from her worry by allowing the wallet to be found.  The first thing that came into my mind as I was praying was, "look in the drawer".  I spoke kind of cautiously, and suggested that I thought that maybe God was telling me to tell Mrs. J to go and look in a drawer and that she would find the wallet.  As I recall, I said it a few times--really trying to encourage Mrs. J to go and look--but she wouldn't.  She had already looked everywhere and she was unwilling to look anymore.  Listen, I understand that completely.  In fact, I was not offended at all that she wouldn't look--maybe I was relieved that she wouldn't look since that would save me the embarrassment of the wallet not being where I said it was.

Move the clock forward eight months.  Mrs. J stood in church a few weeks ago and testified that some months ago she and Mr. J could not find his wallet.  She shared that recently she had been doing some in depth house cleaning and that she came across the wallet....in a drawer. 

By the time of her testimony, I had forgotten all about it.  But Mrs. J had not and she shared with the church that I had told her where it was eight months ago but that she didn't look.  Isn't that awesome?  I love our God and I love the way that He expresses His love--sometimes through the miraculous!