topless preaching. lyme disease. and do things like this only happen to me?
Without fail, after persevering through the long, cold winter, Spring emerges, the sun comes out from hiding, the dogs bring deer ticks into the house, and within 24 hours you have Lyme Disease. And by you, I mean me.
But this is what I love about God. He uses even the ticks to spread His Word.
A Doctor, whom I had never met before, walked in on me as I struggled to put on the paper shirt. Not only could I not remember for the life of me if I was told to keep the opening of the shirt in the front or in the back, but I couldn't even unfold it...and so in walked the Doctor, as I stood there topless. I explained to her that I have four children, and I am not only used to being walked in on topless, but I am perfectly fine with it. She made some sort of joke...how it was okay at the Doctor, but wouldn't it be weird if I were topless at my job? I had to laugh as I shared, "Yes, that would be super weird considering I work in Catholic Ministry."
She stopped what she was doing. Turned fully around. And with a smile asked, "Really? Which one?" I mentioned Walking With Purpose, and that I write and speak, and as she typed into her laptop while I continued to talk, she said, "Here! I pulled up the website!"
Shirtless and braless with the paper shirt still in my hands, I walked her through the website, and as we got to YOUNG ADULT STUDIES she lit up. "I have a whole bunch of young adults who would be interested!"
Turns out, my Doctor was a part of the FOCUS ministry at college. She graduated, married, and is now desperate for a young adult Bible Study to dive into. We talked about local Parishes, NFP, Father Mike Schmitz, Bible Study, Catholic Speakers...you know, all the things you usually discuss when you go in for a tick bite...ALL WHILE I WAS TOPLESS.
Today, I will be swinging by the Doctor's and dropping off a few Walking With Purpose Young Adult Bible Studies with my shirt on. And what can we learn from this? Do not be ashamed to share your faith. To tell people what you do and Who you live and work for. There was a time when answering the question, "What do you do?" felt a little ...no a lot...awkward. Saying you are a Catholic today is about as comfortable as saying you work at a puppy kill shelter and love it. But we need to stop cutting our faith out of our spoken story. Because the truth is...people are hungry for Jesus. They may not know it. They may even argue or laugh at it. But it is true. And so we need to speak up. No matter where we are. No matter if we are dressed or topless.
What else did I learn from this? I have Lyme Disease.
