I sold a large part of my business in 2014, and, at the end of this year, with mixed emotions, I will be closing those doors for good after 22 years. To replace that income, God has led me to start a new retail online business with my husband.

I love it! I am getting to do what I love best, shopping, and with the one I love best, Scott. We love sourcing together, but we also do it individually. Through this new business, although it has only been for a short time, God has already given me so many divine appointments.

One day at a yard sale we were looking at baseball cards. The lady hosting the sale tearfully shared that they had belonged to her son that she had lost several years ago. I had the opportunity to listen to her story and tell her about our GITW Grace Girls support group for moms who have lost children. Because of this divine appointment, she has been added to that group and continues to receive encouragement from our moms on our secret facebook page.

In September, I met a woman who had been homeless. She walked right up to me and asked me for a hug and to pray for her as she was uncertain about her future. We prayed right there. Scott and I were thrifting on our way to the beach for vacation. This was in Florence, SC  right before Hurricane Florence hit. Beginning with our meeting, she has become my new friend. I have been able to stay in touch with her and pray for her.

On that same trip, I met a woman in Little River, SC. Her son went to the wilderness camp with my son. What are the odds I would run into her at a yard sale?! She is in the process of adopting another son from Europe. I am now following their journey, and praying for them along the way.

Another day a man shared with me about his wife dying, and how hard that had been for him. I listened as he told me how precious she was to him, and how very much he missed her. I tried to encourage him, and I came home and added him to my prayer list.

Yesterday was another divine appointment. I ran into Mrs. Jean at Miracle Hill Thrift Store. Mrs. Jean is a sweet older lady who used to rock both my babies at Bethel Baptist Church Daycare. Rarely have I met someone who loves children as much as Mrs. Jean. Because of the love she poured into my boys, I will forever be indebted to her.

She beamed as she talked about her 22 great grandchildren. Then, she choked up as she told me about one of them who was stationed in Afghanistan who had taken a fall off a mountain 3 years ago and was badly injured and still suffering today. She told me about her poor health also. Soon her daughter walked up and they told me about how she had an unexplained illness that the doctors could not find the source of. The Holy Spirit whispered, “Pray with them.” We stood right there in the middle of the store and prayed together for all they have going on. After we finished, I saw a man who had been lingering close by. Under his breath, he murmured, “I needed that.”

The truth is, we all need that. I certainly do. Last week, an 85-year-old man who volunteers at Goodwill Thrift store in Easley walked up to me and struck up a conversation. Soon he stopped and asked if he could pray for me. I said, “Sure.” He prayed for my children and told me that my youngest boy was going to be all right. How did he know I had boys and how did he know I had been concerns for the youngest one? I needed that!

Divine appointments are all around us.  When our Sunday School class went through a bible study last year called, “ Tell Someone,” I asked God to give me more divine appointments, and He has certainly answered that prayer. These situations have just walked up to me. I cannot wait to see what He will do next. This new journey is such a blessing with divine appointments sprinkled along the way.

I am sure there have always been divine appointments in my path. Often I have been too busy to stop for them. I am trying to pay better attention these days so I don’t miss them.

Are you too busy too? As Mark Batterson once said, “You are someone else’s miracle. God is setting up divine appointments, and it is our job to keep them.” If Moses had not stopped to find out why that bush was not burning up, he would never have learned of God’s plan to use him to free the children of Israel.

Pray and ask God to give you divine appointments. Then, watch for them. Most importantly, you never know who is out there needing encouragement from you, or waiting to give you the encouragement you need.

Dear Lord: Help us to see interactions with those around us, not as distractions, but as your divine appointments. Give us the courage to reach out to them, to see their needs, their longings, their loneliness, to see how we can share Your love with them. Remind us to take the time to receive the blessings You want to shower on us through encounters with others that You send into our path each day. We know that You so want a close relationship with us, and sometimes You use other people to hug us, and You use us to give hugs back to them. Help us never to miss those divine appointments for they are time spent with You. Amen  

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

Have you experienced divine appointments? Please share your experiences, comments and thoughts to encourage our group.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May a divine appointment bring you a divine blessing today!