Mr. Nice guy

I was expecting a Mr. Fix-It Man yesterday afternoon to fix our dishwasher which has been busted for about 2 weeks now.
This must be said...I'm not the type of person that stands around and chats it up when the Mr. Fix-It's come to my house.
I like to leave them alone, let them do their work, and then thank them when they're done.
I don't want to try to talk to them out of politeness, because they are awkwardly in my house, and then distract them while talking about nothing, and be the reason that they can't fix what they came to do. Or prolong their stay, in the middle of the afternoon, during nap time, when I need to get stuff done and it's not possible while they're here.

But for some reason, I don't know why, today, I just felt urged to talk with the stranger in my home. I was hesitant, because, well, it's an America First employee, and they aren't always the nicest bunch. ;~)
But something about this guy was inviting.
And a certain voice in my head and an urging in my heart wouldn't leave me alone. ; )

He was only fixing my machine for a couple minutes. I guess the dishwasher wasn't in as bad a shape as the last guy said. So after he wrote up the report I leaned on the table to sign it and he noticed that my table top was a bit on the wobbly side. He said he didn't need to be at his next appointment for a few minutes so he'd be happy to fix my table if I wanted.

I shrugged my shoulders, "sure, that be great!"

When he came back in, I awkwardly went into the kitchen where he was working and just started chatting it up with him. And surprisingly, he was more than happy to talk back. We talked about how old he is (60, retired military), where he's from, his family, some things that his son struggled through, the new path that his son is on, parenting, work ethic, and then, he looks at me and says,

"let me tell ya something I learned in church. When times get hard, ya just have to turn it over. Just turn it over," he says as he subtly raises his hands in the air...turning it over to God. He goes on, "when I'm driving home in my car after a long day, and I'm tired, I just turn my eyes up to Him, and I turn it over to Him."

And then we went on from there to talk about the Lord a little bit. He shared with me an example of a cat jumping on the counter and knocking over some juice, and the owner getting upset, and taking his frustration for the spilled juice out on the cat. When in reality, it's not the cat's fault, the cat doesn't know what he did wrong, he can only sense the owner's frustration towards him. He goes on to tie it in with not letting the little things get to ya, no matter what it is, no matter how small...turn it over.

Well, that was surprising. And made my heart smile.

He was done fixing my Grandma's table now, drilling all new holes in the feet to keep it nice and sturdy. I bagged him up a couple of freshly baked cookies, thanked him for his work, that he freely offered, and waved goodbye.

"Hmm." was the first response I could muster after he left.
Standing there, trying to take in the last hour.
It was so easy.
And I don't mean the talking to him part, though that was easy too...I'm talking about watching him effortlessly incorporate God into our conversation. He didn't know that I was a believer, though after he left, he might have known seeing the "Love the Lord" sign hanging in my kitchen. But still. Still, who cares. I just stood there amazed at how easily and quickly and shamelessly God was on his lips...with a total stranger.

I mean, I've had a lot of those moments, and conversations with strangers about God. There are many times that the conversations naturally go in that direction..or where I feel particularly led to bring it up. But there are also a lot of times, when I don't say anything. When I let the moment go by. When I bite my tongue. When I talk myself out of letting praise to Him fall from my lips.

On Tuesday night at bible study I read Psalm 66 to the girls before we left. I encouraged us to reflect on it this week. To read over David's words and take in how easily, and shamelessly he speaks of God's goodness. I love vs.16-17, "Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue."

It really is that simple. Just like that. No hesitation. Effortless.
"Let me tell you what God has done for me." vs.16
"Let me tell you something I learned in church."
"his praise was on my tongue." vs.17
His praise was on his tongue.

And there this psalm was, in my home, being lived out in front of me, on a random Wednesday afternoon. How funny that God brought this man into my home, to fix my dishwasher, and more importantly to show me just how easy it is to give God praise all the time, no matter where you are, or who you're with.

I love the moments when I egotistically think that God is leading me to someone, or to talk to someone, in order for me to share something with them, something, I don't know what. But then God turns it around, and uses them, to share something with me.

*giggle to myself*
In all my life I will never cease to be amazed by God, he's always one step ahead. He's always seeing, and working, and molding, and refining me. It just makes me giggle with delight. And thankfulness.

"thank You for this example."

How I love Him.

...and He has done a lot for me. More than a lot. More than I can even comprehend.