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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
It Really Was Julia's Place
February 1, 2007
When I walked into the restaurant I immediately fell into my “hero
worship” mode. After all, this was where the Julia Roberts film was made.
I am talking about Mystic Pizza, of course. I had a meeting scheduled
along the shore so I invited Amy, our student Pastor, to join me for lunch
before the group met. When I mentioned the local eatery, Amy told me she
had never been there before.
We walked in and a young lady told us we could sit anywhere we wanted.
I directed Amy to a booth on the other side of the room. As if she didn’t
know, I began telling Amy a little bit about the movie. When the waitress
came back to take our order the mischievous little boy in me came out. I
asked her if Julie Roberts still worked there. (I know it was lame but what
can I say!) Then I looked at her and stepped in a little deeper and said,
“You know you look a bit like Julia Roberts.” She had probably heard it
before so she humored me and just smiled as she took our order.
After she left it dawned on me that the young lady might not even know
who Julia Roberts was. After all, it had been several years since that movie
was made and this girl was probably too young to even remember it. For
all I know she might not even know who Julia Roberts is. As Amy and I
began to talk about our ministry, I forgot all about it. We had a great lunch
and as we got up to go I thought about Julia again and I laughed to myself
for being so silly. Julia Roberts. I bet I was probably the only one who
still thought of her when I stopped at the restaurant.
Then, like Paul on the Damascus Road, I was blinded by what I saw. I
looked at the wall and saw a photo of Julia Roberts serving up a pizza. As
I turned to tell Amy about my vision, I suddenly noticed that the entire wall
was covered with pictures of Julia in various poses, sitting, serving,
laughing, crying, dancing and more. She was all over the place. She was
there all the time and I never saw her.
As I left and headed up the hill to my meeting it occurred to me that that's
how it is with God too! You know God is there even if you can't see Him.
How many times have you been in a situation where you needed strength
to make it through and didn't know where you would get it? Do you
remember a moment when you felt that all was hopeless and then noticed
how things began to turn around? Have you ever wondered if anyone
cared about what you were going through and then stood amazed as you
bumped into someone who just happened along to make your day?
The truth is that God promised he would be with us. Too often we are too
busy or preoccupied to notice Him. But God is always there. So take a
moment to look around you. You will be amazed because God's face will
be plastered on every scene of your life. Whether you see God or not, His
Spirit will be with you because He lives within your heart.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal
February 1, 2007
When I walked into the restaurant I immediately fell into my “hero
worship” mode. After all, this was where the Julia Roberts film was made.
I am talking about Mystic Pizza, of course. I had a meeting scheduled
along the shore so I invited Amy, our student Pastor, to join me for lunch
before the group met. When I mentioned the local eatery, Amy told me she
had never been there before.
We walked in and a young lady told us we could sit anywhere we wanted.
I directed Amy to a booth on the other side of the room. As if she didn’t
know, I began telling Amy a little bit about the movie. When the waitress
came back to take our order the mischievous little boy in me came out. I
asked her if Julie Roberts still worked there. (I know it was lame but what
can I say!) Then I looked at her and stepped in a little deeper and said,
“You know you look a bit like Julia Roberts.” She had probably heard it
before so she humored me and just smiled as she took our order.
After she left it dawned on me that the young lady might not even know
who Julia Roberts was. After all, it had been several years since that movie
was made and this girl was probably too young to even remember it. For
all I know she might not even know who Julia Roberts is. As Amy and I
began to talk about our ministry, I forgot all about it. We had a great lunch
and as we got up to go I thought about Julia again and I laughed to myself
for being so silly. Julia Roberts. I bet I was probably the only one who
still thought of her when I stopped at the restaurant.
Then, like Paul on the Damascus Road, I was blinded by what I saw. I
looked at the wall and saw a photo of Julia Roberts serving up a pizza. As
I turned to tell Amy about my vision, I suddenly noticed that the entire wall
was covered with pictures of Julia in various poses, sitting, serving,
laughing, crying, dancing and more. She was all over the place. She was
there all the time and I never saw her.
As I left and headed up the hill to my meeting it occurred to me that that's
how it is with God too! You know God is there even if you can't see Him.
How many times have you been in a situation where you needed strength
to make it through and didn't know where you would get it? Do you
remember a moment when you felt that all was hopeless and then noticed
how things began to turn around? Have you ever wondered if anyone
cared about what you were going through and then stood amazed as you
bumped into someone who just happened along to make your day?
The truth is that God promised he would be with us. Too often we are too
busy or preoccupied to notice Him. But God is always there. So take a
moment to look around you. You will be amazed because God's face will
be plastered on every scene of your life. Whether you see God or not, His
Spirit will be with you because He lives within your heart.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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