Why Me?

Written By; Bethany Powell

This is a experience from Bianca L.

One memorable day, my canvassing leader pulled up to a hospital and to my surprise told me that it was my special mission for that morning. “Why me?”, I thought as fear gripped my heart. I had no experience canvassing hospitals since this was my fourth day ever canvassing. “Oh Lord, please help me,” I prayed, “please help there to be a lot of people in the parking lot so that I do not have to go inside of this hospital.” As time went on, I realized that God was not answering that prayer of mine. There was almost no one in the parking lot that day which meant that I had to go inside after all. Then walked into the hospital with a prayer on my lips for God’s wisdom and boldness.The first few people I talked with gave me quick rejections and one nurse told me that I shouldn’t be there. Normally I would have left after someone told me such a thing, but I felt impressed to keep going. As I walked down a hallway, I saw a young doctor looking intently at his phone. I started canvassing him on The Great Controversy in a way I had never canvassed the book before. Without much thought, I focused on how God loved Him individually instead of the normal canvass for the book. He seemed to be ignoring me, but then he slowly looked up at me with an angry expression on his face and asked, “How did you know?”. My mind was so confused since I had no idea what he was talking about. “What do you mean?", I asked with a bewildered look on my face. “Well, I just spent my entire lunch break looking up ways to commit suicide tonight,” he said. “Can I see the book?” he asked with much emotion. I handed him The Great Controversy while I was still trying to let this all sink in. “This is the book…this is the book that was in my dream last night.” Tears started streaming down his face as he told me that someone had placed that book on his grave. He turned to the first chapter and remembered that it had the same title as the book in his dream, God’s Love for Man. He immediately pulled out the money for the book and accepted it without any hesitation. Around that time, a security officer came and told me that I had to leave. The doctor did all in his power to allow me to stay, but soon the security guard told me that I still had to leave regardless. As the security guard escorted me out of the hospital, the doctor came along with us. Since the elevator made the security officer a captive audience, I canvassed him as best I could and made small talk with the doctor. When we were all walking out the front door, the security officer stopped and confidently said to me, “I want your smile.” He continued, “I want to be happy, but I don’t have money to get a book.” I cheerfully pulled out Happiness for Life (Steps to Christ) for him and he gave a small donation. Then he opened the book up to the first page and read the first paragraph which they both thought was beautiful. There outside the hospital, all three of us fervently prayed together then two other ladies wanted to join in as well. To say the least, I was ecstatic to see how God did more than I could ever ask or think in that hospital. This experience reminded me that God is always in control. He can use us when we surrender our fears to Him and cheerfully do what he calls us to do. He can put us in the right place at the right time even if it means meeting a doctor who must be given hope before night falls or even a firm security guard that genuinely longs for true happiness.