And then Jesus sat down...

I can’t begin to tell you how much I was looking forward to this past weekend at the She Speaks Conference. I had prayed for months leading up to the event and I was excited to see how God would speak to me and teach me. I guess you could say that I expected God to be there. At any event like this, I think you assume that God will meet you; what I didn’t realize is that He would be sitting right across the table from me.

I hate to admit it, but just like any human, I can be incredibly judgmental. I don’t mean to be. In fact, I am very aware of that tendency and I make a conscious effort to fight against it. I have come to realize that as women, judgmentalism is one of the greatest tools that Satan uses to keep us from finding freedom and confidence in Christ.

Since I had gone to the conference with my good friend Laurie, I asked her to run ahead and save me a seat because I had a meeting with a publisher and was going to be late for the opening ceremony. I was a little bummed to be walking into the conference late, so I was thrilled to know that at least I had had a friend waiting there with a seat.

As I walked in while the speaker was making announcements, I quickly slumped into my chair, trying not to distract the other women who were intently listening. I then looked around at my table and was immediately struck by how incredibly different each one of the women in these seats were. Different races, different ages, different styles. Without a second glance, I immediately thought to myself:

“Wow, this is quite the mix…I wonder if I’ll have anything in common with any of these women.”

I fully expected to make cordial exchanges of “Hi there, where are you from?” and “How many kids do you have?” and then we would each go on with our lives never again thinking about the encounter. However, as the amazing session came to a close and the lights were brought back up, I looked across the table and said to the women:

“Hi there…I’m Cyndie. I’m sorry that I came in late and wasn’t able to catch any of your names.”

And then Jesus sat down…

As the women at table number 54 began sharing stories and thoughts, something became evidently clear:

Never before had all of us met, but it seemed as if we’d known one another for years.

In a short 5 minutes I met women who God ordained for me to meet.

In a short 5 minutes, I had strangers come into my life who would leave 2 days later as sisters.

In a short 5 minutes, the Lord showed me that His plan is always perfect.

What a lesson God gave me on that amazing day.

How many times do I wrongly judge a situation or let my flesh get in the way of God’s big plan?

Oh, Lord, thank you that your will superseded any of my judgments.

Who could know that after just 2 shorts days, I could meet women who would shed tears with me as we parted ways?

Who could know that God loves me SO much that He even cared about my seating assignment?

Who could know?

5 of the 7 gals from table number 54