When God Takes A Photograph

Just as God’s majestic greatness is evidenced in grains on the seashore, His ability to do mighty things can be found when barely whispered prayers are answered.

I’ve had moments of wishful thinking I’d never admit were prayers. Rather, thoughts simply sighed out from a hopeful, unbelieving heart. If prayers are too small to say out loud or too unimportant to bother God with, are they even prayers at all?

Oh, but God is never bothered.

You may think contemplations never reach God’s holy throne of grace because your head wasn’t bowed, but remember He knows what we need before the thought is ever formed.

He knows our desires before we ever wish upon a star.

I glanced around the courtyard, waiting for a divine encounter nestled among the ordinary. People briskly walked by determined to reach the next place. Watching, I distinctly remember the cold London chill overstaying its welcome as the sun beamed down.

In my peripheral view, I saw him sitting on the edge of a brick wall. I spun around. He was the only one sitting still, settled in his own thoughts.

I hesitated by flooding my mind with a hundred reasons why not to sit beside this young man, among which he would think I’m weird. Which is, in fact, entirely true.

So I went.

I sat beside him and introduced myself. We made small talk and within the ordinary, we crossed into the extraordinary.

I learned he was Jewish. And well, I wanted to tell him about Jesus.

I quietly opened my bible to read him a passage. “Do you know who that is about?” The question gently passed the thin veil separating us.

“Jesus. That is about Jesus. “

I froze. He was right. How do I make him see the extraordinary in these black words that became red letters for us?

“The prophet Isaiah spoke those words before Jesus was ever born.” I told him.

He looked far off, the quiet now thick between us. He had no response, but to say he had to go.

As the young man stood and walked away, the Spirit instilled a subtle confidence.

“Can I ask you one question?”

He turned around to hear.

“If this is true, what the prophet said. If the Messiah you are waiting for has already come. If Jesus is on these pages, what does that mean to you?”

And then he walked away, never answering my question.

The prayer I never prayed was to speak to a Jewish person. To flip pages backwards to encounter Jesus in the black.

I ran right up to my friend, who knew my heart’s small desire. The glisten in my eye revealed an eternal moment touched down in the outskirts of London where we stood. Then I breathed an ever smaller desire to her.  “I wish I had a picture of that. Just to remember it.”

Back in the States a few weeks later, the church gathered for an update on the London Missions Trip. Slide by slide, photograph by photograph, the Pastor retold significant moments. Fumbling through my bible, I caught every few slides.

“And this is Melissa and she is talking to a young Jewish boy.”

I looked up to see this photograph. A photograph God took, exactly how I pictured it in my mind.




I was in awe. I never told my pastor about a prayer whispered to my friend, sent as a wish upon a star. Yet God used him to not only bless me with this sweet memory, but to confirm I was exactly where I was supposed to be, even if I never got the answer I was looking for.

Somehow, my sighs reached God’s chambers and in that quiet, insignificant moment, He reminded me how significant I am and how mighty He is.

Never discount the smallest of your prayers answered. You might still be holding on to Hope revealed in them, even after 15 years. 

Comments

[Rebekah]

i just typed a really long comment...and i think it got deleted. :-/ so, i'm going to see if i'm crazy and post this. and...see if i'm crazy.

[Madabella]

youre crazy! haha!

ooooh, i hate when that happens, im sorry friend!

[Rebekah]

okay, so i already typed this out once, but that is a crazy awesome story and one of those things that only God could have done. it amazes me when He does stuff like that! so cool!

that same thing kind of happened to me this past wednesday night. i work with our 'youth' (7th - college) and our youth pastor always says "there are adults all around the room who would love to talk to you (about salvation, about troubles, about whatever)" and i was always praying in my head, Lord, i'll talk to someone about something all. day. long. but don't send me anyone that wants to talk about salvation (i know, i'm ridiculous, forgive me), and no one ever came to me. like, no one.

than this past wednesday night, something was different. after the message i was praying, Lord, SEND. ME. SOME. ONE. PLEASE. i was READY. during the invitation this little college girl who has been visiting for the past few months motioned towards me and we went in the back and spoke about Jesus and salvation and what that means and looks like and while she didn't accept Christ right then and there (she thinks she's been saved, but doesn't know for sure), i saw it as nothing more than God answering that barely whispered prayer in a HUGE way in my life and just thought, wow, You can do anything.

i love it when He works like that! so neat to see how faithful and true God is! :)

thanks for sharing this beautiful post melissa!

[Madabella]

thank you! yes, the subtle signs and wonders of our days are captivating me most right now...and i love your prayer! totally made me laugh! but how neat of God to change your heart and prepare you to share with that college girl...He is so active in our lives and he used YOU to plant more seeds. We whisper to Him and He sends a gentle breeze. i guess it all comes down to us being able to see His faithfulness.

[Melissa Brotherton]

What a beautiful story and how wonderful that it was captured on film. I love how God gives us those moments that seem so insignificant, but that stay with us for years to come. :)

[Madabella]

i know...i seem to remember these little moments most...wait...i only have little moments with God....oh, well, you know what i mean! still small voice! ;)

p.s. did you get my email about the writers conference? i have no idea how im going, expect to sell my daughters softball candy and start a fund! haha! but it looks awesome!

[laura]

What an extraordinary story, Melissa! Yes, you are the brave one, lady. What courage that must have taken...what faith! You are such a good daughter. Now I am wondering about the boy...and what kinds of fruit grew from that seed you planted...

[Madabella]

Thank you Laura. I distinctly remember being on the mission field means having to completely rely on the Holy Spirit...and oh, how I wish I would live in that everyday! And yes, I often wonder about the boy. I never got his name, but God knows His name and every once in awhile, when I remember, I do pray for Him...

[tracie stier-johnson]

melissa, thank you for sharing this beautiful story! beautiful reminder that God KNOWS us, loves us, cares for us and HEARS us!!