Yesterday morning, I wrote my devotion on “I want it my way” and not my will but God’s” And I walked out the door not knowing God was going to put what I prayed into practice.
I do maintenance/ handy man work on the side as tent making funds to help support Nancy and I and make ends meet. Yesterday I went to install a toilet for an elderly black couple in their 80’s. I met them at Lowes this past Monday when I was working my one day a week shift. Installing a new toilet is normally an one hour job. So I had my day planned out on this. However, the job ended up taking 4 hours! When I go there the man named Sylvester stood and stayed in the bathroom while I began working watching me and everything I did. I thought to myself, “Great! One of those guys!: I could not get one floor bolt loose on the old toilet and had to break base to get it up. When I did I saw that the toilet mounting flange that is glues PVC and going into a concreter slab was cracked, broken, and needed replaced. I had to use an internal PVC cutter and cut out the old flange. Then I had to leave and run back to Lowes to get a new flange. I did this and the new one was the wrong size. So I had to run back again and get another flange. It would not slide into the old pipe and I had to scrape and sand down inside of old flange to get it to go into pipe. I finally got new one glued in and began installing the new toilet. I opened the box of new toilet, went to install the base and discovered that the new toilet bolts were in the box, however the nut for the bolts and plastic caps were missing from the hardware package. So I had to run to Lowes again to get nuts and caps! This job and my day was not going anyway as I had planned!
Here is the thing. When I came back after my second trip to Lowes and I was working on the toilet with Sylvester standing over me watching, we began to talk. He asked me what I did and I told him I pastored and led ODC. He began to share and it turns out he has been pastoring for almost 50 years! He went to seminary back in the 60’s and began pastoring small, impoverished, black churches in Montgomery, Al in 1966. He pastored in Montgomery for over 20 years and then moved up to Birmingham and pastored there. The last years of his ministry he spent traveling the country encouraging black congregations and teach evangelism skills. And like myself, he had been to Africa on several occasions encouraging and training pastors there as well.
The stories he shared and our conversations were holy and amazing. My plan for the job was to get in and get out. God’s plan for me was to stay and listen to the gift of Him in and through this man. And It took God using a cracked toilet flange, and two trips to Lowes, to slow down, get off my schedule, stop being annoyed by the man standing in the bathroom, and talk, but mainly listen to him.
During our conversation Sylvester told me the doctors told him something was wrong with his heart and he was going in for tests Friday (tomorrow). He said he has no energy and gets tired easily. When I finally finished the install Sylvester’s sweet short wife came into the bathroom to look at the new toilet. She said “My name is Ivory, just like the soap!” I asked them if before I leave I could pray over Sylvester’s tests, and them as a couple. I had my anointing oil in my pocket as I always do, and I anointed Sylvester’s forehead, the three of us held hands, and I prayed over them. When I was finished, Sylvester asked for my oil. I gave it to him and he anointed my forehead, and then holding hands again, he prayed a holy prayer from the depths of his ministry, over my life and ministry.
When we finished praying, we hugged. And I invited them to my house that night for our Weds. night house church to share a meal, prayer, time in the Word and share his story of evangelism with us. Sylvester said as I told you earlier, I am weak now. Let me get these tests over Friday, and then hopefully we can come next week.
My family, I pray over you as I learned, that in your plans you always allow for 2 interruptions to them, by God and by people. And receive the blessings that they contain, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC