Thanks for joining me again. My story today, is about what happened to me yesterday. But to fully understand what happened yesterday, you must first know how it came to be. Now I don't want to impose any thoughts onto you, so I'll let you make up your own mind about what happened to me.
June 8: I receive an email from my apartment complex which amongst other things detailed a raffle for VIP tickets to the FC Dallas (Football/Soccer) on Sunday. I instinctively replied, entering the competition, not really thinking too much about it, but feeling quietly confident on the basis that not too many locals seem overly bothered about football/soccer (not that I am, but heh, free tickets).
June 9: I get a call from Austin Ranch (apartment complex)....."hey James, congratulations, yay! You just won tickets to see FC Dallas this Sunday. Give me a call back, you need to collect your tickets by 5".
So off I pop to the apartment complex to collect my tickets......yay!
June 10: We have a whole day for Alpha today, so it's going a little more in depth. Today is talking about The Holy Spirit, how and why you should invite it into your life, what you can expect when you do, and what you can expect if you don't. Now at the end of this afternoon, the whole group was invited to go off around the campus for 'quiet time'. Now, I don't really go in for 'quiet time' or 'reflection' etc. so I just kinda hung out (near the cheesecake).
Linda, my table leader was also there and I explained that I didn't fully understand what was required of me, and so we agreed to just walk and talk. We discussed some of the issues that I still had questions about, things that still confused me and things that I still needed to work through.
It was good to go through these things, and I always enjoy talking with Linda. She often has examples in her own life that I can relate to which helps me make sense of things.
The idea of this 'quiet time', however, was to go and invite The Holy Spirit into your life and make that connection. I still had things I wanted to work through though and I didn't feel ready to move in this direction. Linda was fine with this and we just talked through stuff.
I went home Saturday and didn't really ponder upon it too much.
June 11: It's Sunday, and I'm looking forward to heading off to IBC. I'm meeting Linda and Martha down there, and it's always cool to see those guys outside the environment where we normally socialize.
I have a problem though, this afternoon is Alpha which I really enjoy, but I have these tickets. I feel guilty as I've won them and can't use them, but I think "if I give them away, someone else will use them, and thus....no guilt!"
So I walk downstairs to me neighbor, knock-knock.....no "who's there". So I walk back upstairs and think, "the young lady next door to me, maybe she'd like them". Knock-knock......still, no "who's there". It's now close to the time when I need to leave, so I think, "right! the next person I see, gets the tickets!".
So I drive around, and wow.....not another person to be seen! Not one!
I'm just about to give up, when I see one person, a lady walking her dog. I jump out of the car, and explain (probably in far more detail than is necessary) that I have these tickets. "Listen, I can't use them, if you want them, they're yours. They're VIP tickets, Platinum section, with parking passes and all".
The lady explains that she can't use them, but she sings in a choir later in the morning, and if I'd like, she'd take them and offer them around.
"Works for me" I say, handing her the envelope. We make quick introductions, shake hands, and I mumble my way back to the car.
I head off along George Bush HW to IBC.
During the service, Andy (pastor) talks about Barnabas, and I find my mind making connections......encouragement.....The Holy Spirit, what part it plays in the Bible, and how it can impact your life. Again, I didn't ponder upon it too much. One thing that Andy said, and had said before was "You just have to ask, that's all, it's a simple thing to say.....Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, I believe you are my savior, and I invite you into my life".
Again, I didn't ponder it too much.
Now, IBC is down in Irving (I live in Plano), as is Alpha, so as there's only a 4 hour window and 1 hour of this is taken driving back and from the apartment, I tend to just hang out in Irving for the day till it's time for Alpha. I wasn't in a shopping mood, so I thought I'd had back to Alpha and watch the DVD Linda had lent me (Privileged Planet).
So I set up my laptop, and pop in the movie, and then the youth band starts practicing.....dum dum dum-dum-dum crash, tat-tat-tat tsh!
I roll my eyes and close my laptop and head off toward the main hall area. I see the comfy leather couches and think that this would be a fine area for some peace and quiet to enjoy the film. As I walk closer however, I remember that people keep talking about this 'Boiler Room' (prayer room), I'd never been in there, but had always been curious.
I go down stairs, and realize I'm not really sure where it is. Lots of unmarked doors make it difficult to navigate, so I head back upstairs and locate a map. I head back down and quickly locate the afore mentioned 'Boiler Room', not least of all by the great big sign stating "Boiler Room just outside it.
Again, I roll my eyes.
I walk in, doing that tip-toe thing you do when you know you're supposed to be quiet. But you end up making more noise than if you just walked in normally.
There was someone already in there, she seemed quite content lying down. She was praying, or mumbling or singing.....I don't know, but she paid me no attention and I extended the same courtesy.
The room wasn't what I expected, and once bare wall, now full of scrawl, graffiti and drawings from past prayers. The room was separated by light material hanging from the ceiling. Cushions, chairs and big lounge chairs were arranged around with room with what seemed to be order, and yet no purpose at the same time.
Some sections were dedicated to groups (Single Parents Families), some, just a free-for-all. I spent a while just tip-toeing around reading some of what was written. Some were emotional prayers asking God to save those who had since left us; one, making me chuckle, was a huge heart with "Sarah 'hearts' Jesus".
I'd never seen graffiti like this.
After a while of wandering around, I found a comfy chair and had a sit down. I sat for a while pondering all of what had been said over the last weeks in Alpha, sermon's at IBC and what I had read, learnt and heard from discussions with those willing to discuss such things.
I remembered Andy's words that morning, "It's such a simple thing".
And so I thought "well, what do I have to lose?" and so I thought I'd give it a try, and I prayed.
"Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Jesus, I believe you are my Savior. Jesus, I invite you into my life"
For those who know me closest will know that I've struggled with my Dad's death for quite some time now, and this I feel was one of the major contributing factors for drifting away from the faith I had, and I knew it was the one thing I had to get past to allow me to come back.
So I added to my simple prayer "I know that I still have stuff to work through, but I think I want to work through it with you. You took my Dad, and I didn't deal with that properly; help me understand, help me move on, help me."
Wow, no loud trumpets, no flash of blinding light. Jesus did not appear before me and say "Hey, I've been expecting you". I didn't really feel any different.
I took a look at my phone to see the time, and there were a multitude of missed calls from my Mum. I wander back out of the Boler Room (making just as much noise as when I went in). I try to call my Mum back, but she was on the phone, so I thought I'd wait.
About 30 minutes later, she calls me again. "Where have you been?" she asked. I explain that I've been hanging out at IBC. "I've been worried!", "worried?" I ask "why, what's up?". "Well," she says, "it's always difficult on the 11th....."
A sinking feeling overwhelms me. 5 years ago, on the 11th of June, my Dad died. One day before his Birthday, which would have made him 49.
"I'm sorry Mum, I forgot it was the 11th", "That's ok" she says "this day should not always been remembered for what happened".
June 12: So, there we are, here's the facts. This is what happened to me over the last 4 days.
Now here's where I start to put things together......
If I hadn't won the tickets, it wouldn't have put such a focus on Alpha > If I hadn't given them away, I wouldn't have been at IBC that day > If I hadn't been there, I never would have prayed that prayer
So, five years down the line, to the day! The one thing that separated me from God, brought me back. Is this a coincidence? Divine intervention?
I don't think I know, but I think I'm gonna have fun finding out.
- James
P.S. Happy Birthday Dad 
