On More Good Deeds/Blessed Coincidences: Ashley and Celtalita Read the Baha'i Writings

Anyone who loves Baha'u'llah and believes in His transformative power will love reading Ashley's most recent posts. Here is just a smidgeon from one, but be sure and go to her site and read her posts in their entirety. -gw

Before I met up with Stephanie I was reading Baha'i prayers in Starbucks and this old lady walked up to me and in a sweet little voice she told me she thought I was beautiful, that she just wanted me to know, and then she left. I honestly feel like it was really the prayers that were beautiful, brewing around inside me.

Ashley, "Servant," oh, · look · at · how · she · listens

celtalitha read this section of Ashley's post, which prompted her to share her own story. -gw

That's beautiful. About what the woman said. I want to share a similar experience. I grew up very conservative, born-again Christian. I've always loved God, so I guess one could say I was always religious in some sense; but it bothered me that I felt I really had no way of knowing what was actually true about Him.... So one time, when I was beginning to research the Baha'i faith, I was sitting outside on a bench at my university reading "Some Answered Questions" and just really pondering it, and worrying over it, and wondering how I will ever know what's really true, and asking God to help me understand...

Meanwhile, in the background there was one of those annoying loud obnoxious Bible-thumping, screaming, you-are-all-going-to-hell kinda guys, aways away on the lawn, surrounded by a bunch of students making fun of him.

And then accross from me is this second guy, who has been reading something alone for a while, and is now talking very seriously to a female friend about the Bible-guy. I eavesdrop on this conversation for 15 or 20 minutes. This (2nd) guy is obviously a really sincere individual... a strangely sincere one. He seems to honestly love God, and Christianity, and is worried about the approach that Bible-guy is using and how misguided it is. He is talking to his friend very deeply about what they think is worth standing up for, and the way Jesus would have liked us to do it in this society. I like this (2nd) guy, but I'm thinking, I wish I could be so simple and sure of everything. I wish I KNEW...

So after the female friend leaves, said 2nd-guy sits alone on the bench awhile. I get the uncomfortable feeling that he's watching me. And eventually he speaks. Asks what I'm reading. I tell him; Baha'i philosophy. He looks slightly confused and concerned. He asks, tentatively, whether I am Baha'i (he doesn't know what that is). I say no, I'm Christian, I just enjoy studying other beliefs (a slightly sugarcoated version of the truth). He looks much relieved.

Then he says, "I don't know if this will sound weird or make you uncomfortable, but just now before my friend was here, I was reading my Bible and praying; and I felt this impression that God wanted me to tell you, good job. Encourage you to keep doing whatever it is you are doing. I didn't really want to tell you, I had no idea if you were Christian or not. But since you are, I hope it makes sense. I'm not sure what it means, but I really felt that I should tell you, you're doing the right thing."

Then he left. And I looked down at my Baha'i book, and starting shaking, until later that evening I convinced myself that I had overreacted and it was just a coincedence. But I really do not believe that it was.

celtalitha, comments to Ashley's "Servant," on oh, · look · at · how · she · listens

{Re-posted with permission}