On the spur of the moment last Saturday, we declared a Family Date Night to Tyler. Caleb needed some new shirts, because when you grow 4.5 inches in a year, nothing old fits! Since I had some Kohls cash in my wallet, I figured that was just the place to shop.

We’re also down to 4 hens in the chicken pen, and so buying some new chicks has been on my ever-growing list as well.

As I’m planning the route in my head, all-of-a-sudden I remember the movie God’s Not Dead 2 just came out in theaters! We saw the first one as a family and the kids loved it, so I thought that would make a fun surprise if we could fit it in. I kept it a secret in case we couldn’t.

We all start loading up in the truck when Mackenzie comes outside, flicking her hair back and swinging her purse over her shoulder. She says, “Mom, we’re going to meet someone named Jessica today and when we do, I’m going to give her this flower.”

“OK,” I respond slowly, trying to imagine the circumstances around meeting this Jessica.

“And how do you know this?” I ask.

“God told me.” She firmly stated and walked past me.

“OK then,” I say.

She repeats the whole story in the truck as we exit the driveway and the looks that follow seem to say,  I wonder what this will look like.

Our first stop was Kohls and I bet we scanned every person’s name tag, looking for Jessica. Mackenzie chatted with the cashier, who wasn’t wearing a name tag and she finally asked her name. Not Jessica.

So on we went. Surprisingly, things took less time that I thought, so we decided to grab a bite to eat before the movie rather than after. The place was packed. A soccer game had just let out and everyone was hungry for a chicken sandwich. Plenty of places for a Jessica, but we never found one.

Since we were close to Drug Emporium, I remembered I needed to pick up some hair products real quick, so before heading to the movies, I ducked in there while my family waited in the car.

As I walked, I was wondering when we would meet this Jessica…maybe the theater….maybe she would be the one helping us pick out the best little chicks…we strike up a wonderful conversation and share Jesus with her…

I grab my bottles and head to the front to pay. I smile at the lady who clicks my items past the scanner and count out my money. As I hand her the bills, my eyes cross her name tag pinned to her shirt. Jessica.

Jessica?! Here?! But Mackenzie’s out in the truck…!

I run out the truck to tell everyone the news. Mack grabs her duct tape flower and asks me to join her. The boys are asking, “What are you gonna say??”

We both walk back in the store and I point out Jessica to her. She’s at the back register, all by herself and we walk toward her. When we get there, Mackenzie smiles and says, “Here, I made this for you.”

“Awe, thank you,” she said, not really knowing what else to say.

I explain how Mackenzie had the name Jessica on her mind as we left for town today. We said something like May God bless your day, smiled and left.

That was it.

Mackenzie was so full of joy the rest of the day. The joy that comes from doing something the Lord asked her to do. She was expectantly looking for Jessica because she heard the Lord whisper that name to her. She believed she would meet Jessica!

As I think about that story, a few things really speak to me.

 

• The Holy Spirit really speaks to us, no matter our age.

 

One of my biggest goals as a mom is for my children to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

For the God of the Universe to speak to me personally, or to my daughter is special. It tells me He wants a personal relationship with us. He wants us to know Him, and not just know what He can do us, but know who He is.

I hope and pray that when Mackenzie has periods of doubt and struggle later on in life, she can look back on this day and confidently say, “I know God is real. He whispered a name in my heart one day and then led me to that person.”

Nicole C Mullins has a song called I know My Redeemer Lives and toward the end she says, “I spoke with Him this morning….He lives!”

His personal dealings with us, His children, is how we know He lives and He is our real personal Savior.

• He loves us, sees us and knows our name.

 

I don’t know what Jessica has been going through. I don’t know if she believes in Jesus or not. But I know God sees her, knows her name and loves her enough to put her name on a 10 year old girl’s heart and coordinate the two paths to meet. Amongst all the other Jessicas and all the other people in the world, God led my daughter to this young lady. Oh the depths of where God will go to reach one of his daughters.

I never know when, where, why or how the Lord will intervene on my perfectly human and mundane day and infuse it with some of His eternal plan. But I’m thankful for it.

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On May 2nd, my first book is coming out on Amazon! This book, No More Secrets is about being set free from fear, shame and control by discovering true Grace.

Stay tuned for more details!