Gwen's Questions are a Sign of the Kingdom

The Hi Life. No Legal or Illegal Drugs Were Consumed. Just Good Food

We got to sit down to eat with some sweet friends from Arlington who came all of the way to Seattle to see us. Maybe not just to see us (there was a cruise ship waiting to whisk them away to Alaska), but it was sweet nonetheless.

Gwen looked at the owl covered lunch bag Adrienne brought for our little picky eater and asked where we got it.

"We got it second hand. Someone gave it to us"

I was surprised at how interested our server was at my little girl's food carrier, but she went on to explain. She explained that she looks for fun things like pink owl lunch bags on a site where people in Ballard (her neighborhood in Seattle) give away things for free. Its like an ongoing, online swap meet. She said she likes to give things away, too, because it helps her "relinquish."

Most people don't talk about "relinquishing." When they do, there always seems to be an interesting story behind it. So, we started talking to her about why she wants to "relinquish."

I will spare you most of the conversation, but, to sum up, Gwen shared how she is a "spiritual" lady who does not want to be cluttered with stuff. As someone who just moved, I get "cluttered," for sure.

Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't crazy busy, so she could spend some time with us and talk about "relinquishment" and "community." She said her spirituality didn't need any religion, but she loved that she lived surrounded by people that would help her along her path, even in the little things of taking the things that she wanted to give away.

I briefly shared with her that I could appreciate so much of what she was saying because we came to the city, in part, to live in community similar to what she was describing, but centered on Jesus. She was very kind in her responses, but it was clear that she didn't want to hear much more than that...or so I thought.

We said "thank you" to Gwen and we were waving good-bye when she ran up to us at the door to talk one more time.

"Please, tell me a little more about why you are here and what your church is about."

That stunned me. Most people run from that conversation. She longed to hear more.

So, we got to share with her that we long for heart connections with people too and that we want people to walk alongside us as we "relinquish" the things that hold us back. The difference though, is that the only way to thew community our hearts long for is first to be transformed to center our lives on Jesus. We got to share that real relinquishment comes when we allow God to transform us.

I wish the conversation was as neat and tidy as I am portraying it to be here, but I am trying to describe what I saw in the face and heard in the words of Gwen that night: I saw the Spirit of God speaking to the heart of our server in a way that completely surprised me. He was whispering to her in a way I could never describe, but it was an obvious sign of the kingdom for me.

We left the conversation that way after giving her our contact information. Pray with us that she will connect with other believers. Hopefully it will be us.

How Many Owls Can You See in This Picture?

God uses donkeys, stutterers like Moses, fearful people like me, and a little girl's owl lunch bag to show that he still seeks to save the wanderers...and to reach out to a precious woman named Gwen in Ballard.