"Love... without fear"

“... May I love without fear...”  
The desire of a man... led to this experience.

  “God led experiences.”

Shannon Bauer recalls:”Years ago when I was completing a Master’s of Counseling degree through Sioux Falls Seminary, I had a busy schedule.  My family lived in Spencer, IA which was a two hour drive from Sioux Falls and I was preaching at two Presbyterian churches near Worthington, MN one hour from Sioux Falls.  

“A typical week for me was seminary from Monday through Friday, then head home Friday night through Sunday morning.  Sunday morning, I would lead the worship services and then head to Sioux Falls to begin the week again.  

“One Sunday afternoon, while on my way, I was filling up with gas in Worthington.  When doing this I would use my credit card at the pump for convenience. 

“On this particular day I noticed a man outside the gas station.  While I was pumping gas I had an overwhelming desire to see if this man needed help.  He did not have a sign nor did he seem to be in stress.  

“Yet God prodded me 
   to reach out to him.”  

“I had already paid for my gas at the pump and had no need to go towards the station.  I was ready to make an excuse to God and continue my journey.  Then I felt a bit thirsty.  

“I looked over the man’s shoulder and noticed a sign for bottled water: “Two bottles of water for $2.’”  

“Okay God. I will go into the store and buy two bottles of water and offer the man one.  As I was leaving the store the man was still there.  I went over to him and said, ‘Do you need some water? Is there anything I can do for you sir?’"

“Why did those words 
    come out of my mouth?”  

“Before I could make sense of my own statement he replied, “Yes, I would really appreciate a ride to my home in Sioux Falls.”  (About 60+ miles.)

Well... it would only be a few miles 

out of Shannon’s way!

“I agreed to give him a ride.  As we drove to Sioux Falls, I learned that he was a bull fighter.  He and his girlfriend were at a competition in Duluth when his truck broke down.  

“He did not carry a credit card nor did he have a cell phone.  He only had enough cash to pay the mechanic there to order the needed part to fix his truck.  Yet the truck was not to be fixed till the following week and he needed to get back to Sioux Falls for work.

 “He had enough cash left over to 1) purchase a bus ticket to Albert Lea for his girlfriend to get home and 2) buy a ticket for him to get to Worthington.  

“He had no idea how he was going to get from Worthington to Sioux Falls until I showed up.  I had showed up less than 5 minutes after the bus dropped him off at the gas station in Worthington.  

“I did not see or hear from this man after I dropped him off at his home.  

"I do thank God that He gave me 

an opportunity to be a blessing.”

***
"May I love... without fear."

This is the morning prayer of Shannon Bauer, pastor at Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church, southwest of Cannon Falls.  And each evening Shannon reflects on the ways God has used him... “and when my stubborness kept me
 from being used by God.”

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