Seeing God in everyday life begins with the recognition that there really are no ordinary days. A routine errand, an unexpected conversation, or even a frightening diagnosis may become the setting in which God displays his activity. These true stories invite us to look for his hand in unexpected opportunities.

 

Dianne Smalling

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Once you were not a people . . .but now you are the people of God.
1 Peter 2:9

I puzzled over the one-word bumper sticker on the car ahead. ‘WHATEVER’ Of all the statements to paste on Chrome, why choose that? I could almost hear the sigh of boredom.

I contrasted that attitude with a vivid memory from my childhood. I can still see my mom rubbing her hands in anticipation. “What is God going to do today?” She was an early riser in more ways than one. Surely God was at work, and she was poised for action. Mom had great expectations.

As I waited for the green light, the bumper sticker challenged me to evaluate my own attitude. Could I actually be asleep in the middle of God’s activity? How do I become an ‘expector’? Do I pray for big things, things that require a miracle? Do I see my day from God’s viewpoint? He just may turn the predictable into the extraordinary.

The car ahead turned the corner and disappeared out of sight. I wonder what bumper sticker adequately depicts a great expector.

How about No Ordinary Days ?

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DUET ON AISLE EIGHT

…faithful in prayer…Romans 12:12

I was pondering different brands on the supermarket shelf when I overheard a nearby shopper singing softly to herself. She was concluding the final line of How Great Thou Art. I turned toward her and commented on the truth of those words.

Feigning her focus on the shelf in front of her, she quietly acknowledged, “I have to sing.”

The words ‘have to’ drew involuntary puddles to her eyes. Tears spilled over, too quickly to catch as she dabbed at them. I inquired if she had recently lost a loved one. At first, she couldn’t speak but shook her head no.

After a moment of composure, she mentioned her two sons. Flor divulged few details, but her two index fingers gestured that a breach had developed between the sons.

Recently I had been asking God to make me more aware of opportunities to pray on the spot for others’ needs. Could aisle eight of the grocery store be such a setting?

I put my arm around Flor’s shoulder. “We’re family. Where two or more gather in His name, God promises to listen. Let’s pray about this.”

Nearby shoppers quietly ignored us as Flor and I briefly prayed about her sons. Flor and I realized that someone had orchestrated this encounter. Jesus’ presence turned our duet into a trio.

Our farewell seemed as brief as our introduction. I smiled at the thought that two strangers just accessed God’s throne from a grocery store.

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HIGH ALTITUDE MISSION FIELD

. . . make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5

Surrounded by luggage at five thirty in the morning, we heard the dreaded words, “Your flight has been canceled.” We had to be in Mexico for ministry that very afternoon.

The airline managed to transfer our ticket to another company. The impromptu change gave us seating next to Maria.

She was headed to Mexico to be reunited with her husband. Alex had flown to Mexico City to be with his dying father three years earlier. After the funeral he discovered his U.S. immigration papers were lacking final status, prohibiting his return to his American wife and their four children. Three years of legal rubber-stamping were now culminating in a Mexican courthouse. Maria was headed to Mexico City to appear with Alex before a judge to determine if Alex could return to Tennessee.

Maria shared her ordeal during the three-year absence of her husband. God had rescued a daughter from drowning and healed a son from epilepsy. She realized the Lord was somehow drawing her to Himself through this.

Rehearsing these events with me, Maria seemed to become freshly aware of God’s goodness to her. “God put you right here . . . in this seat next to me!” Maria said, weeping. I sensed God at work as we prayed together.

Leaning my head back against the seat, I recalled those anxious pre-dawn events in the airport. I was amused to discover that, on the way to the ministry in Mexico, I had a mission field . . . sitting in 12-D.

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SOUL STRENGTH

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:7

Roger disappeared into the store to purchase batteries while I waited in the car. Suddenly, the cell phone rang beside me on the seat. The doctor stated abruptly that my results were in.

I had breast cancer.

The call was so brief that once it ended, I had a few moments to gather disjointed thoughts into one prayer before Roger returned. Lord, give me soul strength! And please grant Roger the same.

Just then I spotted him coming towards the car.

Over the following weeks, emails poured in from people praying for me. One pastor’s wife had recently undergone cancer treatment. She wrote, “I asked the Lord to make me not merely a survivor but a flourisher.” Her attitude articulated my prayer from that point.

Fear is often worse than the reality. It can become a stranglehold.

Corrie ten Boom summed it up nicely: “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles; it empties today of its strength.”

At my weakest point, God graciously pinned my heart to His character.

I’m thankfully writing this from the well side of cancer. God graciously took care of the problem. I now hesitate to refer to cancer as the problem, for in unexpected ways God turned it into a gift.

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Continue reading No Ordinary Days in PDF

These four samples from No Ordinary Days. In the booklet, Dianne Smalling shares true accounts of unexpected encounters, answered prayers, divine appointments, and the quiet providences through which God makes ordinary days anything but ordinary.

Available as Kindle and Audiobook

Dianne’s poetry is available.