As we walk the streets and ride the metro in urban Moscow, we move along at a normal pace and sometimes do not focus on what is happening around us. Let me tell a story about what took place as we ventured to church one day. For this kind of event, I should have been paying more attention. As our family traveled the subway with millions of other passengers and blended in with our dark colored coats, we stepped into the wagon and settled into our seats as usual. Or, so I thought.
That morning I had a heavy heart. I was worrying about some things and feeling rather guilty about some mistakes that I had made. The family was spread out. I was sitting by myself. One child was across from me, another to the right and Buck and the other child were across from the door. Since we had about a 45 minute ride, I began contemplating. Eventually I lowered my head, prayed and asked the Lord’s forgiveness for where I had failed Him. I started to repeat my prayer over and over again. “Lord, please forgive me. I love you.” But then a still, small, not audible voice, said, “Move on and just feed My sheep.”
Wow! With tears forming in my eyes and a light heart now, I was not expecting the mission that was about to be handed to me. I was not paying attention to the somebody that was watching us. Buck was aware of what was taking place this time, but I was not. A lady was sitting near our family and crying. We arrived at our stop, the last on the north train line, and exited onto the platform. I generally make sure the kids make it off first for fear of separation, so I was behind the family. A lady with a large, weaved bag of goods stopped me. I just knew that she was ready to sell me something. She forced a pair of tights in front me and said take these. I shook my head and firmly said, “No.” She insisted that I take them for my older daughter. She replied that they were a gift. I was caught off guard. I took the hose and said, “Thank you.”
As she was walking away with the flow, I remembered what the Lord told me: “Feed My sheep.” My thoughts were: How am I going to catch up with her? Yet, I knew that I had to. I turned to Buck and asked if he had a tract. He did. He was prepared. I looked at Buck and without saying a word he knew that I was going to chase after her. As he watched the kids and waited on me, I ran and stopped the lady. I said to her, “You do not know how much you have blessed me today. I just wanted to let you know how much this gift has meant, especially right now.”
She began to cry and share with me about personal matters. Coming from a recently broken home, she listened as I tried to consult her and share about God’s love. She told me that she was watching our family and noticed the love between father and children—between us. She wanted to reward us with a gift, because we appeared to be a family that stays together. After sharing the Gospel with her, I handed her a tract. We parted and went our separate ways. I will never see her again or know of her true relationship with the Lord. But I learned a lesson: Somebody is always watching you, so be ready at all times to bring the lost to Him and feed His sheep. Even when I least expect an opportunity, I must be watching.
-The Chosen Path, L.Burch
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