Broken Down Cars and How God Uses the Everyday

Guest post, by Cathie Dorman

Cathie is a wife, a home school mom, a youth volunteer at her church, a business woman, a First Priority Leader, and she has a huge heart for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She lives it.  She breathes it.  Read and see.

The most interesting thing happened this past Sunday at Church – I heard a story about God’s working in someone’s life, and how our mission, and our involvement in First Priority, is always far bigger, and far greater reaching, than we can imagine.

My Pastor (Matt Price) was sharing a message from Luke chapter 4.  The end of his message included this story.

It was Monday morning, and Matt was doing his daily trip to drop his children off at school.  On the way he encountered a woman in the turning lane in front of him whose car had stalled.  She was going nowhere.  He knew he should help in some way.  So, he pulled over to offer to phone someone for her.   He was met with what sounded like a breakdown.

With emphatic energy and a clearly discouraged heart, she indicated that “everyone wants to call someone, but no one actually wants to help push me out of the intersection”.   He decided (even though it meant possibly getting his children to school late) to help her out – to actually be the Good Samaritan.

While pushing her to the side of the road, he couldn’t help but notice that she too had a young man in the car about the same age as his own children.  He offered to drop them all off at school and come back to help her -which he did. After they got the car started, and she was on the move, Matt followed her home, to see that she got there safely.   She showed her gratitude, and Matt went on his way.

Fast forward to four days later – Thursday’s First Priority meeting at 4:00 pm.  The same young man that Matt first spotted in the broken down car passes by the classroom where we (First Priority) meet, and he peeks his head inside.    I stepped into the hallway as he was asking what the meeting was all about.  I told him it was pretty much a Christian club and he could come on in and check it out.  He stated it really wasn’t his thing and he really should go to homework club.  I asked him to think about coming back in a couple of weeks for Mission Week and a pizza party.  He said he would think about it.

I rejoined the group and started showing the students this month’s training web site, Godspeaks.org.  As I was teaching the kids, I look up, and I notice him slip to the back of the room.  After navigating the site for a few minutes and showing the students some of the links, I finally stopped at the testimony page.   I had intended on playing two testimonies from different religions as my church’s youth group has been studying different religions.

But, something in my heart (the Holy Spirit) led me to change at the last minute - to a testimony from a woman that had been depressed after using an Ouija board to ‘communicate with’ her son that died in a car accident.  This woman (in the testimony), the woman who was seeking peace in the “occult”, instead found peace after another woman told her about Jesus and she accepted Him as her Savior.

The young man had a few questions and shared that his mom was practicing Wicca and dabbling in other occult things.

Funny thing was that my pastor had noticed the Wiccan symbols on the car and didn’t think much about it, until his kids told him that the very same boy that they drove to school was at the First Priority meeting.   That this boy, that they go to school with, that was in the broken down car – he learned about what God has to say about Wicca and the occult right there in First Priority.

You never know what seed you are planting.  You never know the details that God is orchestrating, and placing in your path – to bring about His gift of salvation.  Please pray that this young man, in the broken down car, with the Mom that has an interest in the things NOT of God, that he returns for Mission Week; and that he has the opportunity to start a meaningful relationship with his Savior – Jesus Christ.

And, please pray and begin seeing every opportunity, every broken down car, every tired teacher, every lonely student, and every single face God brings into your path – keep seeing that face with a heart attached to it.  That heart has either chosen Christ already, or has yet to do so.

And you might just be the one that pulls over to help them out.  You may be the one that invites them the next First Priority club.  Or the one that shows them the heart of Jesus in a listening ear, or just be being a friend.

What are you open to the Lord bringing into your day today?  Are you looking out for broken down cars?  Or people who might need the heart of Jesus?  Share your eyes and heart with us.  Share a similar story to this.  We LOVE hearing from you.

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