Do you ever long to hear God speak? Do you ever just wish He
would give you a message that is from Him for you or a friend? Sometimes I long
for marching orders to be made crystal clear so I can obey Him and feel
confident in that! To hear even three little words whispered from Him brings order
and sense to my days. Listening to the Lord can at times feel like such a
discipline to me though. It means being still, being quiet, making space. It
means ceasing activity and busyness so that I can tune my heart and quiet my
mind. That is hard. It is something I want to be able to do better, something I
strive for and have even taught my friends about and hope to help them learn to
do.
My friend Megan teaches me often with a depth and a confidence
that is simple yet profound. Megan graduated from Capernaum and is now part of
our Friends 4 Life community group for adults over 22 hosted by a local church
and run my some parents and adults in the community. Megan loves Jesus and her family is part of a
small inner city church where there is more Spanish spoken than English, and
Megan, her brother EJ, and sister Maddie are all welcomed and embraced with a
simple understanding that Down Syndrome doesn’t make them any less valuable as
members of their church. After church last Sunday, Megan’s mom, Michelle,
called me.
As I answered the phone, I could hear Megan in the
background. Her stutter draws me in, it causes me to lean toward her and focus
more intently to understand what she is saying, I found myself leaning into my
phone as I navigated my shopping cart through crowded aisles, balancing the
phone and managing the baby. “Megan
wanted you to know that she listened to Jesus and Jesus talked to her!” During worship,
Megan often plays “air guitar,” but may also begin to dance or use sign
language as part of her expression of her love for Jesus. Evidently, this past
Sunday, she sat quietly. As worship ended, Megan leaned over to her mom and
said “Jesus talked to me,” Megan stuttered. Michelle has been raising kids with
special needs for 27 years and she has seen and heard lots of imaginative
things from her children, but she sensed something different in Megan. “What
did Jesus say to you, Megan?” she asked. “No more sad. He said that. No more
sad.” Michelle told me that she wrestled with it but felt as they were leaving
that if the Lord had spoken, it was purposeful and the pastor should know. Michelle
marched Megan up to the pastor and helped her communicate her message. The
pastor dissolved in tears. “That message was for me. Only God knows the sadness
I’ve been carrying.” Megan embraced her
pastor and patted his back as she did, repeating “N-n-n-o more sad.” After the
pastor thanked her and he wiped his tears of joy and relief, Megan smiled,
waved goodbye and hopped in the car “I’m hungry, mom.”
Hearing from Jesus wasn’t something she needed broadcast to
the church or used to gain approval or recognition, but it wasn’t something she
doubted or second-guessed either. Jesus spoke, she heard, she shared and people
were touched. It’s that simple. Jesus talks to those who listen and His words
are life giving, healing, and transformational. I want to hear Jesus like Megan
does and then I want to share what I hear with a simple faith and great joy…
and then go get some lunch!
