Have you ever had a random thought like, “I wonder how my friend, _________ (fill in the name) is doing.” “I should give her a call.” “I should text him.” “I should write her a personal note and mail it to her.” “I should send him an email just to say hello and see how he’s doing.” “I should post something encouraging on her Facebook page.”

Random thoughts. We all get them from time to time. Sometimes, however, those random thoughts may not be so random. They may be impressions from the Lord because someone we know is in need of being loved, connected with, and cared for.

I was that person on June 18^th. It was Father’s Day. A day when my kids reach out to let me know what a great dad (at least in my mind) I’ve been, and when my wife tells me how thankful she is that I’ve been a good Dad for our kids. It’s a day when I feel especially loved, appreciated, and valued. At least that’s the way Father’s Day usually feels to me. Not so this year. This year I woke up to find myself in the pit of despair.

The pit of despair can be a place of frustration and hopelessness. I won’t go into all the reasons why I found myself there on a day that’s supposed to be “my day” to do whatever fun thing I wanted to do—go eat at a restaurant of my choosing, go to a movie I want to see, and even receive accolades for my amazing parenting. But I was there in that place of despair. I was in such a dark place that I did not even go to church. I just didn’t want to try to fake it when people came up to me to say hello and ask how I was doing.

So I stayed home while Debi went to church. But I was not alone. God was with me. And he saw me. He saw the place I was in emotionally. And he loved me. No, I mean it. Really. Experientially. He loved me. In fact, he sent me three messengers through whom I experienced his love for me.

The first was my wife, Debi. She was just with me that day. She knew I was in the pit, but she did not try to fix me. Deb was just willing to be with me. She did not try to reason me out of the pit of despair. She was just there loving me, listening to me, and being patient with me. She practiced the ministry of presence, and the ministry of her presence with me, and of God’s presence flowing in and through her to me, was powerful and had effect on my heart.

Then, a mutual friend, Tara Mabry, sent me an unanticipated note on Facebook thanking me for my friendship with she and her husband, my good friend, Bob. She thanked me for my ministry through the Alliance of Renewal Churches (ARC) network and reminded me what a blessing that network had been in there lives.

Finally, the third messenger, Michelle King, sent me an unexpected text. She thanked me for how I loved she and her husband, my dear friend, Jeremey, and their two children. She reminded me what a blessing I was to them.

The ministry of presence and two unexpected, unanticipated notes from friends who had had a “random thought” to reach out to me on Father’s Day had a significant impact on my hurting heart. I wasn’t their father. There was no reason for them to reach out to me on Father’s Day. But they did. And because they did I experienced God’s love for me that day. And I needed that. I needed an experience of God’s love, not just an intellectual or theological reminder that he loves me.

Random thoughts—they may not be so random after all. Listen more closely to the random thoughts you have this week, next week, and in the weeks to come. Take a risk and act on those thoughts that are in line with God’s nature and God’s will. They may just be random thoughts, but then again, they might not.

By the way, do you find it as interesting as I do that on Father’s Day 2018 when I was in the pit of despair, God sent three women to be the ones through whom I experienced his encouraging and healing love? You’re funny, Father! Thanks ladies for acting on those random thoughts. It made a huge difference for me just when I needed one.