Honor Your Errand

The voice said, “Go.” 

Intuitively, I knew I should attend an event in another city, but it would be inconvenient, and tickets were difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, I committed myself to go.

“I have your ticket,” a friend said, the next day. 

“What ticket?” I asked.

She’d obtained ticket but knew it was for me. She always knew such things.

I adjusted my work schedule and made the long drive. After a restless night, I felt impressed to go to the venue two hours early. In line, I met a young family. Soon, the father took his impatient kids for a long walk, and the woman surprised me with her vulnerable conversation.

She’d been happily married for years but wanted a sacred and religious sanction of their civil ceremony. Her husband knew but had been reluctant. The conversation drifted back to the superficial when he and the kids returned. The doors opened, and we filed inside.

The voice instructed me to tell this man to honor his wife’s desire. I recoiled at the thought. How could I say something so personal to a total stranger? The message came again. It couldn’t be misunderstood. I still resisted. I was afraid. It came a third time, adding, “This is why I brought you here. If you refuse, you will be held accountable.”

I squirmed for two hours and wrestled with my fear. Who was I to say such a thing?

“You’re the person I sent to say it,” the voice told me.

The event concluded. People filed out. The family lingered in the shade of a tree and greeted me warmly as I approached. The words I’d been given spilled out.

“It’s time,” I said.

“I know,” the man said, needing no explanation.

We embraced. Tears streamed down our faces. His wife melted. They were so grateful.

Relief and gratitude overwhelmed me as I drove home. In answer to a woman’s humble prayer, I’d been sent over one hundred miles to say two words.

A few weeks later, I received news of their solemn event. “Thanks for following instructions from above,” she wrote.

We may not understand why we’re sent or like the errands we receive, but there is purpose in the process and peace in yielding.