Yes, I have been continuing to weave my way through the book of Micah, but something happened that I want to share with you.

Last Monday the wife and I went to a local Botanical Garden. I have been going there for years, and, I even took some classes there when I was a Horticulture major in college. I have two of these delightful places about equal distance from me, in the opposite direction. It matters not which one I go to as they are both places of serenity, beauty, and places of escape for me. As we were leaving, I asked the wife if anything inspired her for lunch. After a moment of thought, she replied with, let’s go to a particular burger stand in a city we go by on the way back home. It’s a little out of the way, but I used to work near there, and she used to live in that city, and both of us, at varying times, ate at this place; and, it has been a landmark in that city for over 30 years. (I did not tell my wife until later, that I too had thought about eating lunch there. I rejected that idea because I did not think she would go for it. So when she brings it up, I quickly said, let’s go.)

We walked in the door, and immediately I am looking into the eyes of a young black woman and her two children. It is at this point that the name Newgy pops into my head. Looking at the young lady, I see no resemblance and convince myself that it is merely the association with the “restaurant” and the locale; so we went to order. Having ordered, I sat, ate, and talked with my wife about Newgy and her Mama, Jeanetta. Evidently, this young lady heard everything I was saying, and so when had to step in front of me to dispose of her trash she kept glancing at me. She began to return to her table when I raised my hand to stop her, and she responded.

I apologized for staring as I entered the business and began to tell her how that upon seeing her the name Newgy popped into my head, but I did not understand why. She said, I heard you talking about my Mama, but she has such an unusual name so I knew that this could not be a coincidence. She went on to say, that Jeanetta is my grandma. I knew both these women, and I told her that I thought her grandma was a Godly woman. For a few seconds she threw names at me, and I knew them all. Now some of my memories were a little more exciting than I needed to share, but we had something in common.

This moment in time happened so quickly, and now she was leaving. I asked her to say Hi to her mom and told her to mention a name she would remember. When I mentioned the name, she told me, that lady and her grandma were best friends. I just smiled, said God bless you and have a great day. Then I sat back down with my wife. That’s when it hit me what God had just done. Jesus said it is necessary that I go away so that the Holy Spirit will come. Well, He did, and so did the Holy Spirit, and I have on many occasions asked the Holy Spirit of God to possess me, because it is in those moments I feel most alive. I suddenly realized that this day, in this little hamburger stand, we were having one of those moments.

People ask me, how do I know that it’s the Holy Spirit talking to me? The problem is, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you think it is your great idea, much like the simple choice of picking a hamburger stand. I had no idea that God had arranged an appointment for me, nor do I understand all the reasons behind His actions. He may have meant for this entire meeting to remind a young lady that God was in control. Or, there is the possibility that God was trying to tell me that He still speaks to me; He is not through with me, and that the prophetic gift is still alive in me. Or, maybe He was trying to encourage me after an unusually bad week, one in which I was willing, once again, to give up.

I believe I am sharing this with you to let you know that God cares about you, loves you, and longs for you use the gift inside of you.