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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: BLESSED (03/07/19)
“I am so mad at Jim right now,” my friend lamented as we discussed the news that our husbands would not be returning from their business trip to Sweden as planned that evening. “I know it is not his fault, but they have been gone for two weeks and Jim flies out again late tomorrow night. When am I supposed to see him?”

“I didn’t realize he was leaving so soon. Paul isn’t scheduled for that trip. Where is he going?”

“California. It’s a sales only trip.” Jim was head of the Sales Department and Paul was in Regulatory Affairs at a medical device manufacturing company. “I also worry about them being in Amsterdam,” Regina continued. “Maybe Paul being there will help, but I worry about Jim going to the Red Light District.”

“Hey, why don’t you and Jimmy come to church with us tomorrow? We can spend the day together, keep our minds off the guys being stuck in Amsterdam.” I didn’t know how else to comfort my friend. I knew she was a believer but had a commitment to raise her adopted son in a certain denomination, even though her beliefs more closely aligned with other denominations. She was hesitant, but accepted the invite.

The next morning, we dropped my son off at the church nursery and Jimmy in the elementary Sunday School class. Our church was small and met in the auditorium of the local high school. Regina and I found seats near the front of the auditorium.

After a few worship songs, Pastor Joel stood up and asked the congregation for any God Hunt Sightings. “For those of you new to Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, we like to focus on how we have seen God at work in our lives this week. We call them God Hunt Sightings. Does anyone have a God Hunt Sighting they would like to share this weekend? Suzie?”

Suzie stood up where she was and spoke loud enough for all 50 or so of us to hear. “I missed some days at work this month because of being sick. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay all of my bills. This week I received a card in the mail with $100 in it, which covered what I needed for bills.”

“Thank you, Suzie. It is always wonderful to see how God provides for us.” Pastor Joel looked around for another hand. “Bill?”

“Our daughter’s surgery went well and she is recovering nicely. Thank you all for praying.”

After the third God Hunt Sighting, I raised my hand. “I am thankful that Jim and Paul are safe in Amsterdam and that the airline noticed the mechanical problem with the airplane before they were over the Atlantic Ocean.” I squeezed Regina’s hand as I mentioned her husband. We were in this together.

“Yes, Lord, thank you for your protection.” Pastor Joel looked around for another hand before continuing. “We will now continue worship with our time of offering. Nancy has a song for special music for us today.”

As we left the auditorium to pick up the kids, Regina thanked me. “I was so focused on how mad I was at Jim for not coming home, that I didn’t think about what could have happened if they hadn’t stayed in Amsterdam. Thank you.”

“I think that because we share these God Hunt Sightings on a weekly basis, it’s trained me to look for how God is working in whatever happens in life.”

Jim and Paul made it home late that evening. Jim had about an hour or so at home to repack before leaving again for the airport. But Regina was no longer mad at him. Instead, she counted her blessings that he was home late, rather than not at all.

Twenty years later, while I really love my current church family, I miss being in a small enough congregation to weekly share God Hunt Sightings. It is an ongoing battle to continue to train myself to see the blessings of how God is at work in my life, especially the struggles. I need to be intentional again about going on a God Hunt.
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This article has been read 560 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
03/14/19
I was so pulled in by your title, and was with you all the way in this well written piece. Thank you,
Blessings~
Jenny Miller
03/14/19
Love it! Love the idea of God Hunt Sightings! Nicely done.
Barbara Culler 
03/14/19
I love the title- I remember going on a "snipe hunt" as a teenager, but found out that it was not real. Thankfully, God is! I enjoyed the dialogue- very realistic!
Nancy Sullivan 
03/15/19
The blessing of a community of believers. You show how easily one's focus can shift in the right environment. Well done.
Verna Cole Mitchell 
03/15/19
From the unique title to the end of the story, I was with you--thinking of the many God hunts I'd made. Good job!
Laurie Glass 
03/15/19
What a great point here. Yes, if we focus on looking for the blessings, we can find them. Well done.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/15/19
I like how you demonstrated the conflict right away. It pulled me in immediately. I'd urge you to use the friend's name sooner and use more body language so the reader gets a better sense of who she is, as well as using contractions to make dialog more authentic. For example, I might edit it like this: "I'm so mad at Jim right now.” My friend, Regina gritted her teeth and balled up her fists as we lamented over the news that our husbands' business plans had been changed. "I know it's not Jim's fault that he's stuck in Sweden for an extra night, but still, I miss him. He's been gone two weeks..."
That's not perfect of course, but just a way to show what I mean. I really like the God Hunt part. I think it's a great attitude and a good thing to do. I often call things like that God's love notes, so I can really relate to it and know how important it is to look for those blessings. You did a great job of writing on topic. You also have a clear Christian message that pretty much everyone can relate to in some way. The ending summed it up nicely, and I truly enjoyed the read from beginning to end.
Betty Castleberry
03/16/19
I really like the idea of God Hunt sightings. I hope that part is true. You did a good job with the topic. Thanks for sharing.
Allison Egley 
03/16/19
I like this.

Yes, sometimes it's the little blessings that matter.
Mariane Holbrook
03/18/19
I love the idea of the "God hunt" and you presented good examples of it. Nicely done! Loved reading it.
Corinne Smelker 
03/20/19
What a lovely story to address the topic. I have never heard of a God Hunt. I have heard of God sightings, something that a church near us does on their Facebook page.

This is a solid piece and I can see you moving up to Advanced pretty quickly!
Karlene Jacobsen 
03/21/19
Love this! I need to start practicing God Hunts. Congratulations on your 1st place (Intermediate). Way to go :)
Linda Lawrence 
03/21/19
I'm assuming this is a true story because of the specific details given about job titles and the sentence about denominational differences. I like knowing that a story is true because it doesn't make me just WISH real life was like the story. In this case though, these details are not necessary to the story. I find myself doing the same thing (unnecessary details) because I'm writing for my family. This is a story that can encourage and inspire many others to join in God Hunts. Good job!
William Pinder
03/21/19
I enjoyed reading your story. Great job using a real life situation to show clearly how we would benefit from seeing more from God’s perspective. It’s so easy to get caught up in daily circumstances and lose sight of the bigger picture. You did a great job with the realistic dialogue between the characters and ended your story well.
Bonnie Bowden 
03/21/19
Congratulations on your 1st place finish in the Intermediate group this week, Joanney.

I think it is important to remember the blessings God gives us. It must be difficult for the wives since their husbands had to make a lot of business trips.

I had a question about one sentence: "Maybe, Paul being there will help, but I worry about Jim going to the Red Light District." This didn't seem to fit in to the story. Had he been unfaithful in the past? or Was she afraid she would be hurt? I would probably leave that sentence out.

I look forward to read more of your stories.