Harold Harmon had just gotten his campsite set up that morning when he got the phone call from his friend.
“He has brain cancer, but he had gotten some good news that the cancer isn’t growing right now,” said Harmon, a member of Lafayette Heights Baptist Church.
As the two talked about how grateful they were for God’s mercy in that situation, his friend began sharing with him about his brother-in-law, who had recently passed away from an illness. In his story, they had seen a different kind of mercy.
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“He got on hospice, and one of the nurses was so helpful — they just fell in love with her,” Harmon said. “My friend told me that his sister said she didn’t know how they had gotten so fortunate as to have a nurse like that at their lowest point.”
Harmon said he knew how — a God who knows exactly what you need.
“We kept talking about how God is always a step ahead of us,” he said.
When Harmon got off the phone, he finished breakfast with his wife and started to do his morning reading — and he saw a theme coming together.
Looking for God
“I had a copy of The Alabama Baptist (May 1 issue) laying on top of my materials, and the way I had it folded, Rashional Thoughts was the first thing, and it said, ‘Look for God at work and seek to tell others about it.’”
The column by TAB editor Jennifer Rash encouraged readers to consider starting a journal with the “memories of all the God glimpses” in their lives so that they could look back on it and give God glory as the years went on.
Harmon said that struck him.
“I could sit here all evening and tell you things that God has done in my life,” he said.
But he said he knows there are probably many, many more he’s forgotten.
“When I get back from this camping trip, I’m thinking about trying to find a journal so I can start writing things down,” Harmon said.
One story that stands out in his mind happened in 2003 when he retired from a long career. His wife had continued working, and as they thought through their finances, he wondered if he had made the right decision.
“I went turkey hunting one day, and I had a place that I would go and sit and meditate and pray,” he said.
Lessons from a bird
As Harmon sat there with his gun up on his hand and knee waiting for a turkey, a bird landed on his gun.
“I could’ve taken my hand and reached and touched the bird,” he said.
As he looked at it, the passage from Matthew 6 came to mind, where Jesus told His followers not to worry but to trust God to take care of them.
“That Scripture came to me, and I shared it with my wife later,” he said. “God really spoke to me that day and said, ‘As long as you’re serving me, you’ll be alright.’”
Over the years since, as situations have come up, Harmon has continued to remember that bird and the faithfulness of God that it represents.
“God was showing me His love through His Word and through that little bird,” he said. “That’s definitely one of the things I’m going to write down.”
Do you have a story of a “God glimpse” in your life? Email us at news@thealabamabaptist.org or send us a note to 3310 Independence Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209.
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