6:30 pm. At my son’s soccer practice. I had packed the essentials:
•My French bread sandwich which I didn’t have time to eat at lunch. Check!
•My Yeti cooler flask with Vietnamese iced-coffee. Check!
•My large-print Bible the size of two encyclopedias. Check!
•My current fav worship songs downloaded ready to hear. Check!
•My time with God. Check!
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All was planned out. A little peace and quiet to have a few words with God in my car. Then the coach steps up next to my car window. After I shake hands with him, he turns around and tells his son: “Go to the car and get a chair for Ms. Jordan.”
Whaaaaat???
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His teen son returns with the chair. It has the words “COACH” embroidered across. He places the chair right next to his mom, the coach’s wife.
My plans for hiding from the sweltering heat with the a/c on in the minivan with French bread, iced coffee, and a good book. Sinking like the Titanic. But I couldn’t say no.
“Thanks for the chair. Let me gather my things from the car.”
After exchanging some words with Keesha, I settled into the “COACH” chair with my coffee, sandwich, and Bible. I open my Bible and my eyes land on this great passage, 2 Chronicles 32:10:
“This is what King Sennarcherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege?”
Assyria, an enemy of Israel, has surrounded the city of Jerusalem and is waiting for its inhabitants to surrender. Good words to munch on.
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Then, I feel that tug again. Here I am reading my Bible on the soccer field while Keesha is sitting right next to me. Kind of awkward to hold the Bible and not hold fellowship with those around me. So at this point I have two choices. Pausing, I decided to get to know her better.
Here is Keesha’s story:
Her childhood was a tough one. Her mother and father had split up before she was born. Her mother went on to have 5 children with multiple partners. When she was 15, she got her first job at McDonalds. At age 17, she left home.
Me: “So, what do you do on Sundays? Have you ever been to church before?
Keesha: “Yes, lots of churches. But I don’t like church or church people.”
She goes on to list the names of Catholic and multiple Protestant church denominations she has visited. One denomination is notably missing. So I inquire.
Me: “Have you visited a Baptist church yet?”
Keesha: “I grew up going to a Baptist church with my mom. My step-fathers never stepped foot inside a church. But I didn’t like the people there.”
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So she had tasted a little bit of Jesus before. I looked down at my large-print Bible. Same verse that had caught my eyes earlier: 2 Chronicles 32:10, “What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege?” Keesha, what are you trusting in?
Keesha was trying to find something to trust. She tried church, and people who go to church. Neither worked.
Okay, God. I get it. My original plans for this evening has changed, but for a good cause. What are you trying to tell me, God? Do you want me to show her the love of Jesus? Okay. I can do that.
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So, tonight is the first soccer practice. Thankfully, there’s an entire season of practices ahead of us. Next week, I’ll bring a chair, iced coffee, and another French bread sandwich. Or two. And my large-print Bible. And let Jesus reveal to Keesha His unlimited, unwavering, unending, until-forever-comes love for her that isn’t predicated on church or church people.
See you next week, Keesha.