You Can't Out-give God
Two years ago, when I was sitting my test to become an Australian citizen (finally after 40 plus years of living here), I met a lovely young woman, we'll call
her Sally, though that is not her real name. Together we helped an Afghani woman with very little English.
I had lunch with this new friend. We spoke deeply and honestly from the first moment. As Sally was speaking to me I had this overwhelming urge to take off the military chaplain cross that I had been gifted with in extraordinary circumstances.
God was pushing and prodding me to give this cross to her. "No" I was thinking, that can't be God because He gave it to me when I was a military chaplain. God knows it is special to me. But the urge was very real.
So I placed this little gold cross badge into her palm and said truthfully, "God is urging me to give this to you. I really don't want to.
It means a lot to me, but I know I have to." I had tears in my eyes as I tucked my now empty hand into my lap.
I looked at Sally's eyes. She also had tears in them. She said to me, "Last night I was supporting a friend who is suicidal. I said to God, "I know you love her, but sometimes I just don't know that you love me. Could you show me that you love me?" This simple gift was the answer to her prayer.
I said goodbye to her, feeling the loss of my cross and yet strangely lighter.
I rushed to get to the book store where I was meeting my best friend Caroline in the coffee shop. Before I could even tell her my story she rummaged in her bag and pulled out the San Damiano cross, the cross that has special significance to Franciscans. She was a little nervous giving it to me (Catholic to
Protestant), unsure of how I would receive it. She also gave me the prayer attributed to Saint Francis.
She started to explain about St Francis, but I had to stop her. I hadn't yet told her that I was now a novice with the Third Order of the Society of St Francis (TSSF)! Imagine how we felt when we realised that at that very moment when I handed over my cross to Sally, Caroline was buying the other cross
for me? Sometimes I wonder, what would have happened if I hadn't given my cross to Sally.
But that is not the end of the story. When my TSSF novice counsellor heard about the story, he told me he had been a military chaplain, and he sent me his cross to have. No - it seems you can't out-give God.
