Guillermo was once a drunk man. He would go every day to his job as a fisherman, and he and the other fishermen would drink all day to keep warm in the cold weather. His sister Eva would often invite him to church but he consistently rejected her. He wanted nothing to do with church, especially if it meant having to change his ways. But he came to learn that sometimes God uses love to draw us to Himself, and sometimes He uses pain.
About 25 years ago, Guillermo was in a nearly fatal car accident, leaving him with a broken back and bedridden in the hospital for four days. On the fourth night, he has a dream, in which he is chained by his wrists to the wall in a dark room, with only one door. In the dream, he saw a man walk by, stop in the doorway, and tell him that in the morning he will leave this place. In the dream, he sleeps and the wakes up, and upon examining his arms, he sees that his chains are gone, and the door has been replaced by a bright light. In that moment, he realized that God was calling him.
From that point, Guillermo gave his life to the Lord, and things changed completely. But recently, he’s been experiencing a lot of physical pain that has kept him from leaving the house, isolating him from his family, friends and church community. Sometimes, when he feels well enough to leave to house, he musters up the energy to leave, but is seized by an overwhelming fear that seems to paralyze him. He knows that this is a spiritual attack he’s experiencing.
Which brings us to today. When our stories collide.
This morning I woke up late, and rushed grumpily to eat breakfast and pile into a car to visit a man that Tia Eva knew. She wanted us to encourage and pray for this man, who has been experiencing spiritual discouragement and physical pain.
She failed to mention that he happened to be her brother, Guillermo.
We sat around the table inside their small home, drinking coffee and eating bread and butter, chatting about our trip and the happenings in the family and church. About 45 minutes into our visit, when Tia Eva asks us to share a word of encouragement with Guillermo, Psalm 42 comes to mind.
For the past few days, I have woken up with Psalm 42 on my mind. I was never sure why, but I would read it and pray over it, hoping to receive some clarity. Psalm 42 is one of the more depressing psalms of David, and I couldn’t relate much to what he wrote. No sort of answer or clarity came, but every day it came to my mind. In that moment, however, sitting at Guillermo’s table, I realized that for days, God has been preparing me to come here, to this very house and share this encouragement with Guillermo.
I read Psalm 42 out loud, and I was struck more and more by each word how relevant this must be for him, how he must be feeling exactly what David felt in this Psalm.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (v. 2)
“My tears have been my food day and night” (v. 3)
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (v. 5)
“As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (v. 10)
When I finish reading, I look up to see Guillermo weeping quietly. I realize that I have spoken the words of the Lord’s heart for him, and he was moved to tears.
He shares with us that he is so certain that the Lord has sent us to visit him and encourage him, and he proceeds to share with us his story of drunkenness redeemed through a tragic accident. I can see that this man is deeply afflicted in his current state, afflicted with pain and fear.
I confirm to him that I am absolutely certain that God has sent us today specifically as a reminder of His love. I’ve seen so many times on the Race when we encounter people who need a specific prayer or encouragement, and God has sent us to give it, and in that brief interaction, these people see how much God cares about the smallest minutia of our lives, that he would send us from across the world to come and show how much He loves them.
I was struck too by how God loves to craft together moments where the divine meets the mundane. We don’t need to make appointments for Him; we just need to keep them. Sitting around a table drinking coffee can lead to a soul transformed; our job is to keep our eyes open for the appointments He’s already made.
