God Was At the Nail Salon

Met anyone new lately?

Last week I was reminded again that God is working in every area of our lives, even at the nail salon.  He is opening doors, all we need to do is train ourselves to recognize and step through them!   That’s not always as simple as it sounds, especially for busy working women.  A schedule is essential!  But if you focus too much on your own plans or expectations, you risk missing the ways—large and small—that God is moving in your life.

I was in Portland with my daughter Annie and we decided to go get our nails done together (a favorite mother-daughter treat!).   At the nail salon, the manicurist asked me what we did this weekend.  I felt God’s hand on my shoulder, so I started with church: “last night we walked from our house to church downtown, then we went to the starlight parade.”  She asked me where we go to church and we started talking about our church in Oregon, Solid Rock.

That’s how we met Amy.

“Oh, I go there too!”  A young lady sitting near us spoke up.  At this point I had a choice to make.  This was supposed to be my mother-daughter time, that was the plan.  I could offer a polite “Oh that’s great!” and get back to my plan for the day, OR I could engage with this new person and see where God took us.  I knew God wouldn’t have presented this opportunity for no reason, so I started talking to her, asking her about a million questions!  I learned that her name was Amy and she was about to graduate from nursing school.   I was able to share with her some about 4word and she was very enthusiastic.   Later that week, Amy came to her first 4word meeting and I know we’ll be seeing her again.

God took this seemingly chance encounter and is already using it to bear fruit, probably in more ways than we even realize!