Sunday, July 5, 2015 We (my mom, my daughter and myself) were driving back from Pismo Beach to the Bay Area after celebrating my youngest son’s 23rd birthday. I was sick with a very bad cold and asthma but we must drive back for my daughter, Isabella's, summer ballet intensive. About an hour through the drive, I started feeling very sleepy to a point of needing to literally hold my eyes to keep them from closing. My mom was already in deep sleep while my daughter, Isabella, was trying to stay awake to keep me from falling asleep.
I told Isabella: “I think I need to stop and maybe sleep for a bit for safety purposes.” and she couldn’t agree more even though she wanted to get home as early as we can so she can rest for the next day’s ballet intensive.
“Yes, mom I think you should. I can see your eyes closing”.
Then questions started flooding my thoughts: “where will I stop? will it be safe to just stop anywhere and sleep? I don’t know what to do!” and just as I said “Help me God!”, it was as if I got transported to a place where I went into hyper sleep and woke up so refreshed as if a ball of fire entered my stomach, warmed me, and gave me a burst of energy. I actually “felt” it (this warm ball) physically entering my stomach! and all this happened in like a matter of seconds! I was filled with energy the rest of the 3-hour drive despite bad traffic which is quite unusual for me. I call it my physical encounter with The Holy Spirit. I always feel the presence of God through the eyes of faith but nothing like this has ever happened to me before. At least not in a “physical” sense.
Rewind about a week before:
Our church pastor came over our house to borrow a bread maker for use in her sermon. We had a short fellowship and I opened up to her that I have trouble grasping the “person” of the Holy Spirit. Not that I do not believe but I just have a hard time comprehending the third “person” of the Trinity. She said she has a book that she could lend me that might help. So after church service that Sunday she handed me this book called “The Shack” by Wm Paul Young.
Fast Forward about a week after:
My best friend, Cecile, who lives close to me but who was in New York at the time, called asking if I could pass by her house to pick up her mail and a package that was scheduled to come that day since no one was home. We haven’t talked for a while so we had “catch up” conversation. I told her about my encounter with the Holy Spirit and I started to her about the book that my Pastor lent me but before I could even say the title of the book she exclaimed: “It’s not The Shack is it?” “Oh my! yes it is!” I exclaimed back. “Why?!” And what she told me next gave us both chilling goosebumps. The package that I was to pick up contained the very same book that she had actually ordered for me! It’s one of her favorite books and she said she felt some type of “leading” to gift me my own copy! Coincidence? I certainly believe not. Ok I’m going to stop here and let you form your own thoughts. May your own reflections and meditations be guided by the amazing presence of The Holy Spirit.
P.S.
And as if all that were not enough, all the programs that i would happen to watch, read, and listen to after this whole encounter, were all pertaining to and centering on the awesome power and presence of The Holy Spirit.
