beyond comfort zones

When you're one of more than 500 writers at a huge hotel, you don't meet but a few of them. So today at lunch in this big ballroom, I chose an empty table in a far corner rather than sit with the people I knew as a sort of game to see who would come. So there I was, the only person alone at a huge table for 10, wondering who would sit down with me.

People were pouring in for lunch and taking tables all around me but my table seemed invisible. The waiter, perhaps feeling sorry for me, served me a salad. Long minutes ticked by and I finished my salad. Feeling a bit strange by now and thinking I'd better join one of the other tables, I prayed the right person would come to my table. I was now way out of my comfort zone:)

So over comes a lady who sits down smack beside me. Her name tag says she's from Ohio. I tell her I graduated from college there and asked her a little about herself. The talk always turns to writing. She asked about my publishing journey and I began talking about my brother who's in Spain but so instrumental to this whole book thing. I mention he'd been in Ecuador for 18 years till recently, planting churches and training Ecuadorian pastors for ministry. She said, "Oh, that sounds like the ministry we support - Team Expansion."

Needless to say I nearly fell off my chair! And she almost fell off hers when I told her my brother's name and she told me she's been praying for him and his family for almost 20 years and supporting his ministry!

Only God could have arranged that! Blessings abound here and everywhere. Sometimes you don't even have to go looking for them:)