Eli’s Gift

God’s call is not always spectacular. Sometimes we need to let the silence speak.

In 1963, a 21-year-old college student drove to Washington, D.C., to visit some friends. He had a little free time, so he drove over to look at the Capitol Building. He noticed a lot of people coming out of the Capitol, so he figured this would be a good time to go in and see what the place looked like. He parked his car right outside — which you could do back then — and walked in.

It turned out that a rare Saturday session of the Senate had just finished. The young man found himself at the doors leading into the Senate chamber. Not seeing any “no entry” signs, he just walked in.

The room was nearly deserted. He started walking around amongst the senators’ desks, taking in the atmosphere of the place. He didn’t realize he’d blundered into an area closed to the general public.

Something led him to step up onto the platform and sit down in the presiding officer’s seat. Moments later, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. It was a Capitol ...