THE POWER OF A CALL
For consider your calling…
1 Corinthians 1:26 (ESV)
Have you ever received a call that upended your plans? Me too!
I took a sip of my morning coffee as I settled into the chair at my desk
to begin what I thought was a normal Monday morning. I clicked open the calendar to scan the
schedule for the day when my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number on
the display as I put the phone to my ear.
“This is Diana.”
“Mrs. Morgan, I am calling from the clinic. You were here on Friday.”
“Yes?”
“I was asked to call you to see if you can come in for some additional
tests.”
“For what?”
“Your images showed something suspicious. The doctor would like you to
come in for a diagnostic ultrasound.
When are you available?”
Silence.
“Mrs. Morgan?”
I wanted to say, NEVER. But instead heard myself say, “Tomorrow.”
“Can you be here at 8 a.m.?”
“Errr…yes.”
“After the test, the radiologist will go over the results with you, so
you will know one way or the other before you leave here.”
“What does that mean?”
Apparently I said that last bit out loud as the woman at the other end
of the line tried to sound reassuring as she answered.
“You’ll know whether or not you will require any treatment. Try not to
worry.”
She gave me some instructions before hanging up.
I set the phone down and sat staring at it. With a call my normal day had become anything
but.
I moved mechanically through the day in a distracted fog. Everything I thought and felt was rooted in
the call—it consumed me.
The fog followed me through the day and night and right into the exam
room the next morning. I followed the technician’s instructions and soon the test
was behind me. I was escorted to a small waiting area just the other side of
the exam room door.
“The radiologist will look at your images soon and then he will be out
to share the results with you.”
She headed down the hallway and then turning she said, “Now don’t go
disappearing on me.”
As I took a seat, I felt my eyebrows scrunch in the center as I wondered
how she knew what I was thinking. I
closed my eyes, trying to slow my breathing and wishing I had not received the
call that had landed me here.
“I called you.”
My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the voice of the One my soul
loves—because He loved me first.
I had been so busy worrying that I hadn’t noticed Him sitting in the
chair next to me. I was so glad to have Him there, waiting with me. Perhaps He
would tell me the results so I wouldn’t have to keep wondering about them.
As though a floodgate had lifted, I poured out all my worried, frantic
thoughts to Him, beginning with the most unexpected and unwelcome phone call I
had received the morning before.
“I didn’t plan on being here,” I said quietly.
“The heart of man plans his way, but I establish his steps.” (Proverbs
16:9)
As I thought about that, He continued. His voice soft and low as we sat
together.
“Dear one, you are not your own, you were bought with a price.”
(1 Corinthians 6:20)
He reminded me of another call I had received years ago. He was the One
who made the call on my life—a call that had upended my plans, changed me from
the inside out—it consumed me. And it consumed me still. It was then I realized
the call I had received Monday morning was not a new call or a different
call—it was part of the same call. He had called me and all my days belonged to
Him. Nothing came to me that had not passed through His hands—including sitting
in this room waiting to hear test results stemming from something “suspicious”.
“Lord, I’m a bit scared,” I whispered just as a woman with serious eyes
came down the hallway, with paperwork in one hand.
My stomach did an odd flip-flop maneuver and my heart cried out, “Lord,
help!” I reached out on the inside to take hold of His mighty arm, only to
discover He had me firmly in hand already. And none too soon as the woman with
the serious eyes and paperwork took a seat next to me.
“Mrs. Morgan?”
I wanted to say, No! You have the wrong person. I’ve no idea who Mrs.
Morgan is. But the One who held me helped me find my voice and the courage to
answer.
“Yes.”
“While there have been changes in the tissue, it is non-cancerous.”
I felt a smile break out across my face as she showed me the results and
then had me sign the report of which she then handed me a copy. I read the
words over and over again as I made my way to the dressing room: Non-cancerous!
A short time later I walked out of the building and into the bright
morning, my feet practically dancing as I headed across the parking lot to my
car. I took my place behind the wheel and then reached into my purse for my
cell phone. I stopped and bowed my head
to thank the One who knew all things and through whom all things held
together—including me.
“Lord, thank You for the call you placed on my life. Thank you that even
when I think the connection must have come loose, that it can’t. That You
always hold me in Your hands. Your call
was a forever call and there is never a busy signal or a message that the line
is out of service because I forgot to pay. You are always faithful. Thank You that I can trust Your many promises
and no matter what other calls come into my life, they are tucked with in Your
call on my life. Thank You for sitting with me in the waiting room today and
for reminding me of Your forever call. Help me to live moment by moment in the power of the Call. Amen.
I knew He heard me; which brought joy to
my heart. I smiled as I dialed my husband’s number—I had calls of my own to
make.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweet friend, are you reeling from a call
that has upended your plans? Are you scared? Is your heart broken over great
loss? Reach out to grab His mighty arm and you will find He has you firmly in
His embrace.
Here are some things the Lord shared with
me. May your heart be strengthened and encouraged and comforted as you sit with
Him and allow Him to speak to your heart.
1 Peter 5:10, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
May the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing, so tht by the power of the Holy Spirit
you may abound in hope.
Romans 5:13 (ESV)
An Original Conversations
at the Well
Ó Copyright by Diana Morgan, September 21, 2013
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