06/02/2026
I shared on my personal page but also felt the need to share here.Bear with me for a long but hopefully encouraging read. I've gone back and forth about posting this, but I felt the push. If you know me, you know I love the Lord with all my heart, and I've been blessed to teach kids about Jesus for many years. But that's in a safe space for me, in a church where I so feel God's presence. In the real world, I would never approach a stranger and start a conversation, especially about God. And speaking to kids in public without a parent, in today's world, no way. I always tell my classes to listen to that small still voice and be obedient. God has given me many tasks that I've been obedient with, but lucky me, they have mostly been in my comfort zone. Yesterday morning, during church, I didn't have kids to teach, which always makes me sad. I sat and listened to my pastor, Joel Trigg , speak about outreach and living God's word, and not just coming to church and going through the motions. In my head, I thought, I'm not a Sunday Christian. I love outreach, I teach classes, I do this program and that program, I live my life serving the Lord. That afternoon, I was blessed when Pastor Jerry and Rhonda Webb Webb of Loving Faith Fellowship invited me to be a part of their river baptism and teach the kiddos who came. I did what I always do, I had my lesson, craft, and games prepared, and I prayed, like I always do, for God to speak through me. I was ready. They were beginning the service, and I was sitting alone, no kiddos for the second time that day, again feeling sad. I noticed nearby, two young teens were listening so intently. God started speaking to me, saying, 'Go talk to them.' I said, 'No way,' my heart started beating faster, my head was spinning, I was either going to throw up or pass out, maybe both. Speaking to strangers, no, God, you know that's a major fear of mine. The feelings kept getting stronger, I was having a major panic attack, which, having a panic attack alone in public, another major fear. I angrily said to God, 'Fine, I'll do this,' I wasn't being obedient in a joyful way, I was terrified, yes, I get it's not a dangerous situation, but for me and my crazy personality, oh, it was. I had already gone down the rabbit hole of 10 negative things that could come out of this interaction, but not one positive. I grabbed some Jesus stickers, I slowly approached, being the crazy woman approaching strange kids in the park. I asked if they wanted a sticker, both were so excited and said yes. They asked about what baptism was, okay, yay, I went naturally into teacher mode and explained, yay, going good, I'm surviving. Then, what I wasn't expecting, they asked what being saved was. I have been honored to teach many kids about salvation and walk with them through the process. But never in a public place, never out of my comfort zone. I knew instantly this was what God had called me to do, I was explaining salvation and teaching them about it, tears were flowing down my face, I was close to full-out, uncontrollable sobbing. I know these poor kids had to think, 'Oh no, we got the crazy lady in the park.' They listened and asked questions, and both decided to give their hearts to Jesus. And one decided to join the baptism. I'm not saying if I hadn't been obedient, it wouldn't have happened, I fully believe they were being called to the Lord, and it was in motion. But if I hadn't been obedient, I wouldn't have been a part of the blessing. It had been a long, hard week for me, for my family, with the devil trying and succeeding in stealing my joy as a distraction. But God's bigger. The moral of this extremely long story is that being obedient is more than going through the motions, more than going to church every Sunday, more than teaching, it's about listening to that small still voice and being obedient when it scares you, when you don't want to do it. Because, trust me, being like any good parent, if you aren't listening, God will yell to get your attention.
