On Sunday we went to the Lakes and visited a beautiful waterfall near Ullswater with our new pastor and his wife and some of their friends. On the way, I got chatting to one of them and found out how he had come to know Jesus. It was an extraordinary tale.

During his wedding ceremony when the vicar was speaking about love, John noticed the wall behind him start to ‘throb’ and move… The words being spoken took on a strange and strong significance. He was a heavy drinker, but this was nothing like an alcohol-induced ‘dream’. He was a tough policeman who could handle his booze. He knew this was something else…something holy, something incredible.

Later on that night, instead of getting on with ‘unwrapping his wedding present’ and doing the usual things one expects of honeymooners, he was scrabbling around in the hotel room drawer trying to find a Bible. He spent some time trying to locate the passage about love that the vicar had read that day. He eventually found the words of 1 Corinthians 13 and devoured every word.

Some weeks later, both he and his wife went to a church service where there was an appeal at the end for anyone wanting to make a decision to follow Jesus. John’s wife looked at him and was totally embarrassed to find him sitting with his hand up. She was about to say something to him, when she realised her hand was up too.

This couple have been Christians many years and have an amazing ministry. He works for Hope for Justice (something I blogged about some months ago) and she is a health visitor. They are the most down-to-earth but heavenly minded people… and also properly hilarious. We roared with laughter all day!

I love hearing how God breaks into people’s lives in unexpected and wonderful ways. As we looked at the beauty and strength of the waterfall, I praised Him for His supernatural communication that is so tailor-made for each individual.

Here is part of what John read on his wedding night… but in the Message version of the Bible…

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.