'His' interaction in my life seemed constant. And, 'His' way of teaching me to seek the truth was interesting to say the least. It seemed like what was truth for most, based on mere words written in the bible, became what I would consider 'a living' truth for me.
He didn't just tell me through words in the bible, although 'He' did that too, at times. No, mainly, 'He' showed me in ways which made me know that 'He' was the one running the entire show!
Allow me to give you an example of this:
I was confirmed an Episcopalean. The night before my confirmation, my girlfriend decided she would do me a favor and cut my hair. I wasn't too thrilled about it, but I allowed it, nonetheless. Unfortunately, when she cut it, she cut it way too short. Naturally, I felt very subconscious about the haircut, and I felt it truly made me look like a man, instead of a woman. Well, on this particular day, God decided to show me just how unimportant looks really were, but I didn't realize what he had in store for me, in order to get the message across.
That morning, several people were due to be confirmed along side of me. I don't recall if it was an Arch-bishop, or just a bishop that was due to perform the ceremony, but I did recognize the man as a very REAL man of God. I always get a special feeling when I'm in the presence of one; a feeling which allows me to know, inside, that the person has what I would consider, 'The Holy Spirit' in him. I guess one could call that one of the gifts 'He' chose to grant me.
The (arch?) bishop came over and he placed his hands atop my head during the ceremony. He asked me to raise my head, and held me by my chin. My eyes shifted downward, because I didn't want to seem like I was staring. Then, he asked that I look into his eyes. I did so, and then he said, "God is well pleased with you." He said, "You, truly, are special to 'Him'!" He continued on his way to the next person down the line, but I noted he didn't say anything to anyone else. He simply read from the book to fulfil the sacrament of confirmation.
I thought nothing more about it, and figured it was probably something he said to select people in each group. That was, until the father came over to me after the ceremony and asked what the bishop said. I informed him of the bishop's words. The father told me that the bishop very rarely spoke to anyone during a sacramental rite. He continued on with, "I never heard him say anything like that to anyone." I found it kind of interesting that the bishop would say the words he said to me, but didn't think much more of it.
After, the church threw a luncheon and my family and attended it, along with the rest of the congregation. Nothing more was said about the ceremony, itself.
I figured it was all over and I just had to wait for my hair to grow back, but I guess, God had other plans for me. 'He' decided to make a 'huge' deal of 'this particular' lesson.
If you recall, I wasn't comfortable with my haircut. In fact, one could say, I downright hated it! I was so used to having long hair, and well...it just didn't look very feminine. I felt completely naked and off balance. especially during the ceremony and luncheon. I hoped no one would notice my hair at the church, but just about everyone made a comment about how "cute" it looked during the luncheon, and, of course, they told me not to worry; it would grow back.
What I didn't know was my local newspaper decided it was an important event, and so, they sent someone out to take pictures of the confirmation ceremony. And, of course, the powers that be, decided to make sure I understood why it wasn't good for anyone to be concerned with 'any' egotistical aspects of the body. What a lesson!
You see, splattered across the news was a full page story, and a picture of me kneeling before the bishop, as he placed his hands over my head. If that wasn't bad enough, the media didn't get a frontal view of my face, but a side view which showed every hair on the back of my head (or, maybe I should say, lack thereof). Even worse, my ears appeared to look gigantic, because there wasn't an ounce of hair to cover any part of them.
Of course, the following week, as I walked into the church, there on the table were dozens of copies of the story, for the congregation to pick from. And, naturally, the father of the church had to mention it at the beginning of the sermon. Not only that, he had to inform everyone that one of his own flock had been elected for this great honor.
Naturally, I didn't see it as the 'great' honor he thought, but I understood the lesson, all too clearly, nonetheless.
Yes, 'God' does have a sense of humor, believe me! When 'He' chooses to teach us a lesson...well, let's just say, the lessons can take whatever is inside of you that isn't 'Him', completely dump them out, and start you off fresh as the morning snow on a cold winter day.
Mind you, that was just one of the lessons he chose for me. Many more followed! No, 'He' wasn't through with me, not by a long shot. He was just showing me 'a little bit' in that lesson. He had lots to teach me, lots to show me, and lots to tell me! This amazing God of mine was, and still is, the most awesome teacher I could ever hope to have.
to be continued...
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