The Quiet Call
August 13, 2005
We had just returned from a family gathering late Saturday evening when our
son Andrew asked if he could go gas up his car. My advice was to do it on
Monday, not go out at 10:00 at night on such an errand. He voiced his
preference to get it done then, because he wouldn’t do it on Sunday and didn’t
want to put it off until Monday, which for him would be a busy day. So off he
went…
Upon his return, he was most anxious to tell us what had happened. This is what
he relayed:
After gassing up his car, he felt led to drive the short distance to Center Place
Restoration School, even though it was late in the evening. As he was driving
around a corner of the building, he heard angry shouting. Andrew turned off his
headlights and drove around the corner of the building to see what was
happening. There he saw a scrufty young man yelling at a young girl who was
cowering against the wall of the school. When this young man lunged at the girl
as if to hit her, Andrew turned on his headlights and pulled up closer. He got out
of the car and asked if there was a problem. The attacker said that everything
was fine and that Andrew should just leave. Andrew’s reply was that things did
not look fine, and that he wasn’t leaving. After several comments, Andrew
expressed concern that the girl was not safe, and that he was calling 9-1-1 for
help. After a few more verbal exchanges, the young man got in his car and left.
Andrew asked the young girl if she was OK, and she said that she was. He asked
if he could call someone for her, and she declined. What really seemed sad to
Andrew was that she acted as though this was a common occurrence.
When Andrew returned home and reported what had happened, we decided that
he and his father should go back to the school and check on the safety of this
girl. They were unable to find her or the young man.
As we talked about this situation, we found several notable things;
• Andrew felt led to gas up his car…..then felt directed to go to the school
• He followed both of those leadings
• When confronted with a situation where someone was in danger,
without hesitation he acted with courage and wisdom to offer protection
• We felt that the Lord honors CPRS as His house, a place of refuge, and
thus sent Andrew to prevent violence from being acted out in that place
at that moment
I mulled this over in my heart for several days before added understanding
came to me. If Andrew had heeded my counsel, he would have stayed home that
night because it didn’t ‘make sense’ to take action at that time & gas up his car.
The sky did not light up and a voice from heaven didn’t tell him to go to the gas
station, nor did an angel direct him to go to CPRS. Both were quiet urgings,
completely ordinary; or so he thought at the moment. He simply followed them
one at a time. The Lord did not directly tell Andrew to go to CPRS and save a girl.
He took him step by step. What we came to understand later was that because of
Andrew’s willingness to follow those leadings, he was instrumental in protecting
a girl from harm at the Lord’s house. Had he listened to me and stayed home, we
would never have known the harm that fell on that young woman…. It simply
would have gone unnoticed.
I shudder to think of the harm and suffering that goes on each day that Zion is
delayed…. And we don’t notice. I cringe to think of the simple, quiet calls that we
overlook or ignore because it may not ‘make sense’ at the time. Do we wait for a
voice from heaven when the Lord is calling gently through the stirrings of our
hearts?
August 13, 2005
We had just returned from a family gathering late Saturday evening when our
son Andrew asked if he could go gas up his car. My advice was to do it on
Monday, not go out at 10:00 at night on such an errand. He voiced his
preference to get it done then, because he wouldn’t do it on Sunday and didn’t
want to put it off until Monday, which for him would be a busy day. So off he
went…
Upon his return, he was most anxious to tell us what had happened. This is what
he relayed:
After gassing up his car, he felt led to drive the short distance to Center Place
Restoration School, even though it was late in the evening. As he was driving
around a corner of the building, he heard angry shouting. Andrew turned off his
headlights and drove around the corner of the building to see what was
happening. There he saw a scrufty young man yelling at a young girl who was
cowering against the wall of the school. When this young man lunged at the girl
as if to hit her, Andrew turned on his headlights and pulled up closer. He got out
of the car and asked if there was a problem. The attacker said that everything
was fine and that Andrew should just leave. Andrew’s reply was that things did
not look fine, and that he wasn’t leaving. After several comments, Andrew
expressed concern that the girl was not safe, and that he was calling 9-1-1 for
help. After a few more verbal exchanges, the young man got in his car and left.
Andrew asked the young girl if she was OK, and she said that she was. He asked
if he could call someone for her, and she declined. What really seemed sad to
Andrew was that she acted as though this was a common occurrence.
When Andrew returned home and reported what had happened, we decided that
he and his father should go back to the school and check on the safety of this
girl. They were unable to find her or the young man.
As we talked about this situation, we found several notable things;
• Andrew felt led to gas up his car…..then felt directed to go to the school
• He followed both of those leadings
• When confronted with a situation where someone was in danger,
without hesitation he acted with courage and wisdom to offer protection
• We felt that the Lord honors CPRS as His house, a place of refuge, and
thus sent Andrew to prevent violence from being acted out in that place
at that moment
I mulled this over in my heart for several days before added understanding
came to me. If Andrew had heeded my counsel, he would have stayed home that
night because it didn’t ‘make sense’ to take action at that time & gas up his car.
The sky did not light up and a voice from heaven didn’t tell him to go to the gas
station, nor did an angel direct him to go to CPRS. Both were quiet urgings,
completely ordinary; or so he thought at the moment. He simply followed them
one at a time. The Lord did not directly tell Andrew to go to CPRS and save a girl.
He took him step by step. What we came to understand later was that because of
Andrew’s willingness to follow those leadings, he was instrumental in protecting
a girl from harm at the Lord’s house. Had he listened to me and stayed home, we
would never have known the harm that fell on that young woman…. It simply
would have gone unnoticed.
I shudder to think of the harm and suffering that goes on each day that Zion is
delayed…. And we don’t notice. I cringe to think of the simple, quiet calls that we
overlook or ignore because it may not ‘make sense’ at the time. Do we wait for a
voice from heaven when the Lord is calling gently through the stirrings of our
hearts?
| Testimony of Robin Neill |
