Every so often I wonder if Abba has taught his son Jesus somewhere along the line how to design and carry out sneaky surprises for us, that catch us “off guard” and thrill us with a sudden “invasion” from heaven. The Lover of our souls delights in showing us his playful, romantic nature as he communicates his enthrallment with our betrothal to him.

One of these “invasions” from heaven I experienced early on, in the second year of my walk with Jesus, and it still warms my heart decades later whenever the memory “bursts” upon me. I was busy finishing an “important” task at home when my young daughter chose that moment to sweetly invite me to play Scrabble with her. I responded, “Honey, let me finish this project quickly while you set up the game on the living room floor by the fireplace. I’ll join you in just a couple of minutes.

When I joined her a few minutes later, she had set up the game board and had positioned all the letter tiles face down, ready for me to choose the seven tiles I would start with. I selected the tiles and placed them one by one on my letter rack to then try to invent a clever word or two to begin the game with her. I was shocked by what I was staring at as I looked at the word that appeared on my rack, with no tile rearrangement yet by me:

EPHESUS

“Jehovah-sneaky” had guided my hand in selecting, in order, the seven letters in the name of the famous biblical city in Asia. This name is associated with one of the most exhilarating New Testament letters written by the Apostle Paul. I had studied Ephesians early in my walk, and I was undone by the message the Lord had clearly spelled out on my Scrabble tile rack, because I knew the meaning of the word ephesus.

I was weeping as I asked my daughter to please give me a few more minutes before I could continue the game with her. Jesus had just called me, “Darling!”

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