Today I led someone to the Lord. As is most often the case, I was not expecting it. What was an ordinary encounter, in an ordinary setting (not a church or spiritual event), turned into a Holy Spirit delivery room resulting in a 62 year old woman being born into the family of God. Once again, I'm reminded of the similarities between natural birth and spiritual birth. I've always been amazed how God has ordained that we would participate with him in the creation of life, through the process of conception and the bearing of children. It is both glorious and humbling, a privilege often taken for granted, but oh so profound. Three times I have experienced this, and my three children, along with my son-in-law, are the source of untold joy in our family. But I didn't become pregnant one day and give birth the next day. It was a process that took nine months. This is the point I was reminded of today when I led this dear woman to the Lord. Spiritual birth doesn't just occur in a vacuum. It is the culmination of events in which Holy Spirit is actively involved, purposing to deliver one from the dominion of darkness into the marvelous light of the Son of God. This is why we must learn to pay attention to what God is doing in a situation. As we interacted, she made reference to God in a way that revealed to me that her knowledge of Him was not based in truth, but in pseudo religious ideas. This was the beginning of a dialogue that revealed the heart of a seeker. The more we talked, the more it became evident that over a period of time, God had been drawing her to himself. I was able to 'connect the dots' for her and explain that all of these things, the friend who prays for her, the tract a stranger gave her with the verse she had memorized as a child, the conviction she had felt when she admitted to an acquaintance that she didn't attend church regularly and the sense that Jesus was very near her one day, were not random occurrences, but the Lord revealing Himself to her (John 12:32). The natural next step was for her to say yes to Him and that is what she did. So many times I have struggled with my desire to "witness" to people, but not knowing how to turn the conversation in a spiritual direction. I have come to realize that if I will just wait on Him, continually asking Him to show me what He is doing in a situation or a person, the outcome is always better. It takes the pressure off of me to make something happen when I wait and listen and then join with Him, not only in what He has already done, but in what He is currently doing. In John 4 Jesus told his disciples to "lift up your eyes and look at the fields, they are already white for harvest!" We are called to the harvest field of humanity to labor together with God in the salvation of all people. We all have a part to play, vs. 36,37 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together . . .one sows and another reaps." On this day, I had the privilege of reaping where others had sown. God is working his plan; let us be ready and willing to be a part of the process, "that the world through Him might be saved."