Stumbling into Action
I brought up my concerns privately to a couple of the more mature members of our group. They challenged me not to become judgmental, which I certainly didn’t want to be. Yet I couldn’t shake my sense of unease, and I prayed that God would show me what to do about it. I wanted to encourage Peggy but thought to myself, Who am I, a mere spiritual fledgling myself, to be out trying to change somebody else? In spite of my doubts and inexperience, God soon answered my prayers for guidance. It was Christmas day, and I was driving down Eighth Street when I saw Peggy walking along the side of the road. I stopped and we chatted briefly, then arranged to meet later that evening to talk further. When we got back together, I told her I was glad that she had been coming to our Bible study. She said she was enjoying it, making some new friends, and learning from the discussions. “That’s great that you’re growing in your understanding of God and the Bible,” I said, taking a deep breath and trying to act more confident than I actually felt. “But I’m curious to know whether you’ve ever really asked for Jesus’ forgiveness and committed your life to him?” Her answer struck me in a strong way and has stayed with me ever since. “No, I haven’t,” she said, “and nobody has ever told me I needed to.” “Well,” I replied, “you really do need to.” Then I did my best to explain what that means. To my surprise, it made sense to her, and we actually ended up praying together, right then and there, to affirm her faith in Christ. I later found out that God had been working in Peggy’s life in a number of ways leading up to that day. He had spoken to her through a Bible she had recently “stolen” from a hotel room (she didn’t realize that the Gideons put them there hoping people will “steal” them), through a Christmas Eve ser vice at a church the 81