Ellen hurried down the hall balancing grocery bags in both arms. What a day. Between work, school, and picking up food, she’d been out of the house for the past 12 hours. But when she’d opened her fridge this morning, it had nothing in it but a bottle of iced tea and a box of baking soda. She’d put off shopping long enough.

As she reached her door, Anna’s door opened.

“Ellen, how are you? I haven’t seen you in forever. I made too much food again. Do you want to join me?”

Ellen sighed. Anna invited her over at least once a week, and she hadn’t taken the hint. “Thanks, but I don’t have time. I have a paper due on Friday and I haven’t started it yet.”

Anna propped a hand on her hip. “You need to take time to eat.”

“I can’t, but thanks, anyway.” Ellen fumbled in her bag for her key. Where was it? She set the grocery bags on the ground and rummaged deeper in her bag. “Uggh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find my key.”

“I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.”

Ellen dumped out her bag, reached into all her pockets and groaned. “It’s not here. I must have left it on the kitchen counter as I was rushing this morning.”

“You can call the office. They have a master key.”

Ellen rubbed her forehead. “How long will that take?”

Anna glanced at her watch. “Well, it’s after hours. I guess you’ll call the emergency number. Hold on. I’ll get it.” Anna disappeared into her apartment.

Ellen leaned against her door. She did not have time for this. “God, why did you let this happen? I’m trying my best. You know how busy I am. Why would you let me get locked out?”

Anna reappeared with a paper in her hand. “Here’s the number.” She peered at Ellen. “Are you OK?”

Ellen shook her head. “I’m just a little stressed.” She took the paper and called.

“Hey, this is Ellen Grainger. I’m locked out of room 202.”

A sigh came from the other side of the line. “I just got in line at the grocery store. I can’t leave right now, but I can probably be there in about 45 minutes. I’m sorry.”

Ellen bit back an angry reply. This wasn’t her landlord’s fault. It was hers. “It’s not your fault. Thank you. I’ll wait.” She disconnected the phone. Why would God waste so much of her time? She glanced up to see Anna studying her.

“How long?”

Ellen blew out a breath. “45 minutes.”

Anna grinned. “Perfect. That gives you plenty of time to relax and have dinner. Bring your groceries – we’ll refrigerate the cold foods.”

Ellen hesitated. But really, what choice did she have? Anna was right – she didn’t want her groceries to go bad, and why should she sit in the hallway to wait? Her stomach grumbled. Food sounded good.

“Thank you.” She followed Anna into her apartment. The aroma of tomatoes and garlic filled the space. A full pan of lasagna sat on top of the oven.

“You made an entire lasagna?”

Anna shrugged. “I was in the mood for it, and it’s not like I could make one serving. Besides, it freezes well. But I’m thrilled to have someone to share it with. I love cooking.”

“It smells amazing.”

“Why don’t you put your cold stuff away while I get the table ready?”

Ellen obeyed, and a moment later turned to find the small table set with the lasagna, a loaf of bread, and a salad. She raised her eyebrows. “This is an awful lot of trouble for someone who lives alone.”

“I like to do things right. Come, sit, and I’ll pray.”

Ellen took a seat at the table and Anna bowed her head. “Dear God, thank You for this food, and thank You for Ellen. She’s been so busy lately. Please ease her stress and help her see You truly know what is best for her. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The two women settled into easy conversation, and Ellen’s stress melted away. The food was delicious, and Anna’s quiet, gentle presence radiated the love of Jesus. By the time the landlord unlocked Ellen’s door, she didn’t want to leave.  

Anna packaged up half the lasagna, a generous portion of salad, and half a tray of homemade brownies. “This is for you. You shouldn’t have to worry about making dinner for the next few nights.”

Tears filled Ellen’s eyes and she blinked them away. “You are so kind. Thank you so much for tonight. I can’t believe you just happened to make my favorite meal on a night I was locked out. I was so stressed about getting everything accomplished, but I feel so refreshed right now. Thank you for praying with me.”

Anna nodded, but kept silent.

Ellen reclaimed her groceries from Anna’s fridge. “You, know, it’s crazy. I’d been struggling to come up with a topic for my paper, and the perfect idea just popped into my mind.”

Anna smiled. “That’s not crazy at all. Your brain just needed a chance to relax.”

Ellen shook her head. “This whole night makes no sense to me. I wouldn’t even be here if I didn’t get locked out.”

Anna’s smile widened. “It’s all because I had a God nudge.”

Ellen blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Anna finished wrapping up the leftovers. “A God nudge is when you sense God telling you to do something. And today, I sensed God wanted me to have dinner with you.”

“But you ask me to dinner all the time. Why was today different?”

Anna smiled. “I usually invite you to dinner because I want to spend time with my friend. But today, I invited you because God wanted you to be here. I went to the extra trouble because I knew you’d come.”

Ellen stared at her. “But I didn’t have time. I only came because I was locked out.”

Anna nodded. “But God knew that would happen. He planned this for you because He loves you.” She lifted Ellen’s bags of groceries. “Now get over there and get that paper written. And next time I invite you for dinner, maybe you won’t need to be locked out to say yes.”

Isaiah 55:8–9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God, we think we know best, but You have a wonderful plan for our lives. When things don’t happen the way we expect, help us to trust You have a better plan. Sometimes we get caught up in the busyness of our lives and don’t realize we need to take time for what really matters. Help us prioritize time with You first, time with others second, and everything else third. Yes, we have other obligations, but relationships are what make life worth living. Please help us remember that. And help us be responsive to the nudges You give us to reach out to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.