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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Major Anne Read

Good morning

One Sunday morning I took a call about a victim of human trafficking who needed to be picked up from her place of rescue and taken to a safe house. The Salvation Army has a large team of volunteers who provide this service but on this occasion I was free myself and able to respond.

When we met Mai she was trembling nervously, avoiding any eye contact and could barely even reach out to shake hands. A small middle aged Vietnamese woman, she sat curled up silently in the back seat of our car as we drove along the motorway with the radio playing quietly in the background. Suddenly she tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘music… music…’

I turned the radio up and the beautiful sound of Gregorian plain song filled our car. Recognizing it as church music Mai animatedly put her hands together and with tears in her eyes exclaimed ‘God… God…’

In that moment our reliable old car became a holy place, a sanctuary of the Spirit. God was present and at work.

Soon afterwards we reached the safe house where the process of restoration and rehabilitation would begin for Mai. I pointed to the small stained glass cross in the window and clumsily signed that I would pray for her. Mai hugged me before we left and I knew in some miraculous way without me being able to communicate in words at all, God had breathed His peace and assurance into her heart.

I wonder if today unexpected and unlikely places might become special places where God might be revealed and we might become aware that miracles can still happen.

God, wherever we are, in our cars or colleges, in our homes, hospitals and hearts work your miracles we pray. Amen

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