When God Showed Up

By Martha Reabold

[Today, I welcome a guest blogger - Mrs. Martha Reabold.  Martha is a member of my church, First Baptist Cornelia, Georgia.  I intended to blog about our Holy experience at FBCC last week.  Unfortunately, life grew too busy to slow down long enough to get my thoughts together.  Then, Martha shared this with me.  I knew I didn't need to write the story - she had.  I am grateful she noticed God showing up as much as I did.  Thanks Martha for articulating this moment in the current of God's Spirit so well!]

When the forecast warned of freezing temperatures in the North Georgia mountains, the community got busy.  Some stocked up on groceries.  Others put extra blankets on the beds and winterized their cars.  In the still of the night, inside a warm comfortable home, an idea began to form.  It was entrusted, not to the government, the media or an agency, but to a child of God who was not too busy to listen.

The idea was quickly shared with a pastor and his church, and it began to take shape.  The church would open its doors to provide shelter to anyone who needed it.  This time the congregation got busy, not preparing their own homes, but bringing blankets, setting up beds, and gathering food.  The pastor, eager to lead his congregation further into the journey of faith, said, "We'll see what happens when God shows up."

As the wind swirled and temperatures dropped, a church gym was transformed into a shelter.  Folks began to show up, seeking hot food and a warm bed.  One of the guests, a wanderer, had seen better days.  He was long on dreams but down on luck.  Amidst the cots, coats and coffee, the wanderer found hospitality, acceptance and love.

The next Sunday, the wanderer came back to the church.  He was still seeking shelter, but not from the cold.  As the organ chimed and the church gathered for worship, the wanderer sat at the grand piano underneath the majestic chandeliers.  And he gave the church the only gift he had......his music.

Most people in the congregation that day couldn't believe what they were hearing.  This music was like nothing they had ever experienced in their sanctuary.  It was bigger than the grand piano, filling the walls and floating beyond the ceilings.  Surely this was a gift from Heaven.  [Click here to hear John's music from Sunday.  Go to minute 2.30]

That day the wanderer met the church.  The pastor and his congregation can't describe what happened and could never duplicate it, but they know they were changed.  And as the story is shared through the years, there will only be one way to explain it.   God showed up.