By Karen Y. Stevens

 

When we moved here in 2000, I left behind, a life time of friends.

It was more traumatic than I expected. I gained about 15 pounds and longed to spend time with the friends I had left.

God knew this even though I didn’t really recognize it.

I’ve been writing about listening to God, and knowing His voice the last few weeks, so I thought I would share another experience with you.

I was attending an aerobics class when we first moved here and growing tired of it. The Instructor continued to not show up, and the “fill in” Instructor was asking us to do strange things.

On this day, the Instructor had us “high-five” the person across from us and tell us each other’s names three separate times.

As I was doing this, God whispered in my ear and said, “This will be your new friend”.

I questioned this.

“God, don’t you think I need a friend with children the same age as mine, so we will have something in common, as well as our schedules?”

God said, “Don’t worry Karen, I know what you need.”

This went on throughout the rest of the class. God telling me not to worry, He knew what I needed and me arguing with Him about; shouldn’t they be a Christian, shouldn’t they live close by my neighborhood, etc. The one stipulation God put on this, was that I could not tell her, that He said she would be my new friend. I laughed out loud when I heard God say that!

I told God, “Do you really think I’m going to walk up to this woman and tell her that God said she was going to be my new best friend?”

“Are you kidding?”

“She would think I’m crazy.”

Well, that was the last day I went to that class, and I told God He would have to work out His little plan, because I wasn’t going back. Months went by and I did not give the conversation that God and I had another thought, until I saw Stephanie at my church one morning.

I walked up to her (with my jaw on the floor) and ask her about being at church. She said she attended there. (Congregation of about 1,200 at the time).

Anyway, pleasantries were exchanged, and we said our farewells.

God started tapping me on the shoulder and said, “I told you I know what you need.”

I brushed it off and said “well, I still don’t know how you’re going to make us friends.”

More months passed, and I did not see Stephanie again. Since I only have 500 words or less to tell this story, I’ll skip to the end and trust me, I’m leaving out a lot of good stuff. Stephanie has a child the same age as my youngest son, at that time she lived down the street from me, likes to walk which we started walking together, and she has been a great friend every since. God knows what we need. Just listen and believe.

 

Karen Y. Stevens is founder of Orange County Christian Writers Guild