Neighboring With A Nudge From God

Soaring Wings Ministries is located on Trinity Lane in Wellington, Colorado.  It is a private road about 1/2 mile long and we are one of three families living on Trinity Lane.  About two weeks ago I was praying about how I could reach out to our neighbors and when I finished praying I had the thought to bring each of them a box of apples.  I clearly pictured a cardboard box filled to the top with apples.  I had no idea where I would get such a box of apples as there are no apple orchards near by, and it would be very expensive to go to the grocery store and buy a box of apples.  I kept the thought in the back of my mind and thought it sounded like a nice thing to do but didn't know if I really would deliver a box of apples to our neighbors.   

Every Wednesday morning I attend a ladies Bible study group.  There are about 5 of us who meet together meet each week at the same house.  Each week we dig into God's word together, pray, fellowship, laugh and usually end our time together talking about our families, food, gardens or recipes.  My friend has HUGE apple tree growing in her back yard and as we were leaving she told us to go pick some apples from her tree to take home.  She had some paper bags for us to put the apples in but ran out of bags so she went into her shed and grabbed a box for me to put my apples in.  It was a joy to pick apples with my friends on a sunny, fall day and I ended up with a box filled to the top with freshly picked apples.  

The crazy thing is that as I was picking apples and putting them in the box,  I never once thought of our neighbors and how God had whispered in my ear about giving them a box of apples.  Instead,  I was thinking about what I would make with the apples when I got home.....apple crisp, maybe apple pies or maybe applesauce that I would put in the freezer.   God knows that I am forgetful and that I need reminders as to what He wants me to do because as I was driving home from Bible Study I stopped to check our mail and saw one of our neighbors drive by.  I waved to her and thought to myself, "I wonder how I can reach out to her more".  I then though to myself, I sure wish I had a box of apples to give to her and I immediately remembered the box of apples in the back seat that I had just picked at my friends house! Honestly, I thought to myself, "What a dope I am!".  Of course those apples weren't intended for my family!  The box of apples were clearly intended for my neighbor as it was EXACTLY what I had pictured in my mind after my prayer time with God a few weeks ago! 

No box of apples had ever looked so beautiful to me as I knew without a doubt that it was God who had clearly provided these apples for me to deliver to our neighbor.   It was through no effort of my own, other than picking them from a tree, that I ended up with a box of freshly picked apples.   I was so excited and amazed to see how God had so effortlessly and simply provided the box of apples.  Clearly, God is involved in our day to day lives and does guide and direct our thoughts and actions to accomplish His will.  I delivered the box of apples to one of our neighbors and she was very happy to receive them.  Beyond that, I don't know anymore as to why I was to deliver a box of apples to our neighbor.  All I know is that I prayed, God whispered in my ear, gave me a clear picture of a box of apples and then provided the box of apples and reminded me to go deliver them to our neighbor.  What a joy it is to walk side by side, hand and hand with the Lord God Almighty!  He is so powerful and majestic and yet at the same time He involves himself with such a simple thing as a box of apples.  

I have one more box of apples to deliver to one more neighbor.  I can't wait to go to Bible Study next week and share this story with them and to pick one more box of apples to deliver to our other neighbor.  God is good! God is involved with the day to day lives of people here on earth! I encourage each of you to walk closely with Him, talk to Him and watch how He is involved in your life.  If  you are forgetful like me or thick headed like me, don't worry, God will nudge you along.  We don't have any apple crisp or apple pie or applesauce at our house but we have the joy of seeing how God provided a box of apples and the joy of knowing that God is involved in our ordinary, everyday lives. 

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Welllington, Colorado