The journey offers lots of opportunities for pitstops.
In my childhood days, I was given the impression that a pub was not a place to frequent as if something demonic would occur there. (And as if nothing demonic happened in church gatherings.) Thankfully, I discovered in my adult years that pubs are great places for socialising and watching football. They’re also good places to connect with people and get an idea of where they are and what occupies their thoughts. The right pub is a good place to reflect and converse with people in a setting that doesn’t have the pressures and expectations of other places.
I am grateful for my mentor, who took this location as ideal for being a part of the community and making connections. Connections that would naturally afford opportunities for Christ encounters. Just as the pub offers refreshments, the conversations could offer refreshment by connecting what is heard with the Living Water; it is a great testing ground to listen to and genuinely understand others. Understand without looking to impose an agenda on them as though only what you have to say matters. Understand that sensitivity is needed to connect them with what God offers in Jesus Christ.
Seizing those opportunities is so precious. Not to get a notch on a belt or make another decision, but just for the chance to be used by God to shine a ray of light through a listening ear, a kind word, and the knowledge that someone really cares.
For His Name’s sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
