I was living with a woman a while back, when I first moved back to Grand Haven, and we were having problems with our hot water heater. The landlord came over and he brought his plumber with him and while I was watching them work on it I was overcome by the urge to confess Jesus's name out loud, to just say 'Praise the Lord!'

It was hard for me, for I was among other men, and this feeling of embarrassment came over me, but also then I got this clear image of a Scripture that I could not have possibly recalled on my own (for my memory really stinks), "...whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

That scared me, and I blurted out, 'Praise the Lord!' and the guys looked up from their struggling, puzzled, and I added, 'It's going to be just fine. Jesus is going to fix it. It will work.'

Both men nodded and said Amen and I felt like I was floating six feet off the ground.

When the landlord pulled the old water heater out of the corner he had to clean underneath it. While he was on his knees, sweeping stuff up, he said, 'Hey, Doug, you might want this,' and he handed me an old clay plaque with a picture of Jesus on it. I was stunned. I walked into the other room, holding the plaque in front of me, feeling surreal. On the plaque was the Scripture, 'Blessed are the Peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.'

I am a man who believes that everything happens for a reason, and I knew that it was just an old plaque, probably dropped behind that ancient water heater years ago by the lady who lived there before us, but I shuddered anyway, just thinking of all the things that would've had to happen so that that plaque would land in my hands at that particular moment on that particular day. God was sending me a message, again, He was telling me, Here I Am. I cannot find the words to thank Him, but I thank Him anyway, for by this one, small token gesture l was reminded of a long-forgotten prayer that I had made years ago. I had asked God what it was He wanted from me, what exactly my purpose was. I had asked many times after that, always thinking my prayers were falling on deaf ears; O ye of little faith.

In those times, when I was praying and asking God for His plan for me, I had the unerring sense that I was already doing what He wanted. When I was younger, I was constantly helping friends and family members with their problems, always the guy with the shoulder to cry or lean on. It hit me that I was still doing that now, at home, at work, here on the Net. All this time and here was the answer, right in my hands, "Blessed are the Peacemakers..."

I still have the plaque; it hangs on the wall above my computer. I look up at it every day, and I still shudder. To think that God would put this small trivial thing in my hands, just to remind me, 'Hey, I heard you.'

Amen.