I like to say I’m a student of the Bible, but if I had to give myself a grade, it would probably be kindergarten. I’ve always been spiritually curious, drawn to understanding the Bible beyond religion and dogma. As a kid—10, 11, 12 years old—you could often find me in the religion section of the library, searching for books that might help me understand God. And here I am, at 44, still on that journey, still deepening my relationship with Him, day by day, moment by moment.
I look for God everywhere—He is, after all, omnipresent (He’s got all the “Omnis,” right?). But sometimes, it feels like I can’t hear Him at all. And on those days, I wish He would just shout, so I could be absolutely sure of His guidance.
One day, I was feeling especially lost—rudderless, sad, just kind of floating through the motions of the day. I needed gas, so I stopped at the station and used a $0.20 discount from Harris Teeter’s fuel points. As I pumped, I said a little prayer of gratitude—one for the simple ability to buy gas and another for the discount because, hey, every little bit counts these days.
After I finished, I decided to swing by the store for some vodka sauce. I was craving a seafood pasta dish, inspired by one of my favorite meals from a Long Island restaurant, King Umberto’s. With some leftover salmon and shrimp at home, it felt like the perfect kind of rich, comforting meal—very necessary for the kind of day I was having.
As I pulled into a parking space, I spotted a friend I had been trying to connect with for weeks. Just seeing her gave me a little boost. She was chatting with someone else, and I hesitated—should I interrupt? But how often do you run into a friend you’ve been hoping to see? So I tapped her on the shoulder, and before I could even say anything, she turned around and gasped, “OH MY GOD, we were just talking about you!”
Turns out, she and her friend had been discussing faith—what it means to believe, and whether or not she truly did. We share a mutual friend, a gifted psychic medium who also happens to have a Master of Divinity. I’ve been learning from her for almost a decade now, and in many ways, that journey has completely reshaped my life. I left a full-time HR job to pursue my work as an artist, stepping fully into a calling that feels spiritually aligned. I’ve been deepening my understanding of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and figuring out how to share that journey through my work.
And yet, lately, I’ve felt like I’ve been burying my ‘talent’—just like in the parable from Matthew 25.
So standing there, in the middle of the Harris Teeter parking lot, listening to my friend talk about faith—about me, even—it felt like God was speaking. Because how else do you explain a moment like that? A friend you’ve been trying to see, unexpectedly showing up, in a conversation about faith, at the exact moment you need to hear it?
We laughed about our shopping trips—one of us had groceries slowly thawing in the car, another was just there for frozen waffles. But in that ordinary moment, something extraordinary was happening.
I like to think that God is always moving, always using the little details of our lives to draw us closer to Him. Maybe He doesn’t need to shout because He’s already sitting right next to us. Maybe He knows exactly when you need to run into a friend who’s questioning their faith while you’re trying to strengthen yours. Maybe He knows that sometimes, all it takes to multiply a ‘talent’ is a conversation—a shared moment that reminds you both that you’re not alone.
Looking back on that encounter, I’m struck by how beautifully orchestrated life really is. These moments of connection aren’t random—they’re proof that God is always working, always present, always leading us where we need to be.
So as I keep figuring out this whole faith journey, I’m reminded that even the smallest interactions can carry immense power and purpose. Every day, we have the chance to share our stories, to encourage one another, to open our eyes a little wider to the ways God is moving. And when we do, we don’t just grow in our own faith—we help others grow, too.
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