It was a normal Sunday afternoon. I was busy doing something super holy. I was checking to see who had won the Rogue Invitational (a CrossFit competition). It was taking place in Scotland and the competition had ended by the time I was done preaching.
Anyway…I was doing a super spiritual activity when my wife came to the table and said, “Josh, I think you should come to the living room and pray with us.” The “us” was her and another woman who was over at our house.
The visitor has had a rough 10 days with a depression like she’d never experienced before. She had no idea why she was experiencing it. So I asked a few questions. “Did you do anything recently, change any behaviors, etc…” just to try and see if there may be something that caused the start of the depression.
Nothing.
My wife and I asked a few other questions and discovered a few things to pray for. I led the time of prayer. I modeled for her a prayer of repentance for something she’d done years ago. I prayed a blessing over her for some experiences she had witnessed as a kid. And then I didn’t know what to pray next.
So I paused.
Clark.
That’s what came to my mind.
A name.
Clark.
And here’s what I thought.
“I recently watched the documentary on John Williams (which is quite good, by the way). John Williams wrote the score for the Superman movie. Clark Kent is Superman. So that must be why the name Clark popped into my head. Oh boy. Now things could get weird. Do I mention the name or not?”
All of those thoughts went through my head in seconds.
So I said, “Does the name Clark or the word clerk mean anything to you?” I threw in “clerk” because I was too nervous to only go with Clark. I didn’t want to look any more odd than where this was already headed.
She said, “Clerk doesn’t mean anything, but Clark. I haven’t thought of that name in years.”
At this point, I apologized to her, my wife, and to God. I knew that Clark was what I heard, but I was too much of a coward to just say it. So I threw in “clerk” as if it would strengthen the odds of me not looking like a fool. Oh ye of little faith…
It turns out that Clark had done some really bad things to her years ago. So we prayed. She let go of the power Clark had on her and, in her words, “Was able to take a deep breath for the first time in a long time.”
She didn’t know what God had in store for her yesterday. I didn’t either. I was busy doing other super holy stuff. Thankfully my wife was paying attention. And she knew that God, for reasons only he knows, speaks to me in this way at times for others.
God, forgive me for the times I’ve not been listening to what you want to say to others through me. And thank you for continuing to speak to me anyway. Amen.