Some of the most meaningful moments of ministry are the ones we never plan.

In this episode, we explore how God uses ordinary interactions, unexpected pauses, and quiet obedience to plant seeds that grow far beyond what we can see. This is a reflection on movement, alignment, and the unseen ways love continues to travel long after the moment has passed.

Sometimes God brings those seeds back to us, not for nostalgia, but for confirmation.

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💌 Contact Nina at ninapajonas@gmail.com today! 

Remember, the Lord can turn your wounds into wings—you were Born to be a Butterfly! 🦋

Born to be a Butterfly © 2025 Nina Pajonas All rights reserved. The content of this podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. For the full disclaimer, visit ⁠ninapajonas.com.

Welcome back to Born to Be a Butterfly, where we embrace healing and growth in Christ to experience true transformation.

My name is Nina Pajonis, and I pray that today's message ministers to you.

Before I start,

I have to say that today's episode was not planned.

It actually came from two situations that occurred only weeks apart.

And I believe the Lord was showing me something that many of us need to be reminded of.

Love travels.

It shows up in places we didn't plan,

it reaches people we didn't realize we touched.

And sometimes even years later,

God brings it back to us,

not for nostalgia,

but for confirmation.

A few weeks ago, I went to get my oil changed and there was a young man that was helping me.

And as he was tending to things, I told him how much I appreciated his customer service because he really took his time.

He had taken such good care of me and I wanted him to know that I really appreciated it.

Afterward, we started chatting and I mentioned where I work.

Then he mentioned where he used to work because it's similar to what I'm doing now.

And when he said the name of his old job,

something clicked.

I told him,

oh,

I remember going there one day.

What's interesting about that is that I hardly ever, ever go into retail stores.

I buy almost everything online.

But that day,

years ago,

I had an issue that I thought would be easier solved if I spoke to someone in person.

So I went to the store when I never do.

The guy that was working there that day was having a very rough day. Day.

He was rude.

I mean really rude.

But instead of matching his energy,

I asked him,

is something wrong?

Are you having a bad day?

And he looked at me and he said,

actually,

I am.

What he went on to share wasn't just about work.

The day that he was having at work certainly wasn't helping matters.

But he also spoke about personal things.

So I listened.

I encouraged him.

I sat down at his desk so that we could both relax while he poured his heart out.

And when it was all said and done,

I was probably there for about an hour and a half.

Before I left,

I asked him if he needed a hug.

He said yes,

so I gave him one.

Afterward,

I never went back to that store and I never saw that young man again.

Until a few weeks ago.

Sitting in my car at the oil change place,

I suddenly realized it was him.

I started talking I about my memory of that day and he said,

that was me.

Immediately,

we both started laughing and we were smiling the biggest smiles because it was like running into a long lost friend.

Even though I only met him that one day,

and I only spent like an hour and a half with him.

But there was something so special about that day.

I couldn't help but wonder,

why was God having me run into this young man again?

I mean, yes, we are both still in the same town,

but his places of employment couldn't have been more different.

He didn't remember what I looked like,

and I didn't remember what he looked like,

but he remembered how I made him feel.

He remembered that someone saw him,

that someone slowed down,

that someone cared.

And that's when I knew what this episode was going to be about.

It's about ministry in motion.

Since I left the women's ministry that I helped to build at my former church,

I have missed direct one on one ministry.

I have missed it deeply.

But the Lord has been showing me that he can use me wherever I am.

Colossians 3:17 NIV says,

and whatever you do,

whether in word or deed,

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

And speaking of ministry in motion,

on New Year's Eve, I was working,

taking calls,

handling customer service issues when a woman came on my line.

And she was furious.

She wasn't just frustrated,

she wasn't just impatient,

she was angry,

but from a much deeper place.

It wasn't about an inconvenient charge on her bill,

and I knew it right away.

She was yelling at me to demanding things,

talking over me.

She was yelling so hard,

but it almost sounded like she really wanted to cry.

It sounded like she was angry at life.

But if I'm being honest, my pride wanted to rise up and say,

you don't get to talk to me like that.

But the Holy Spirit and my professionalism priority prompted something else.

I paused.

But when I say I paused,

I mean for a good 30 seconds.

There was silence on the line.

And I believe those 30 seconds gave that woman enough time to hear herself.

And it definitely gave me enough time to gather my spirit.

Because,

yes,

I'm a professional,

but more than that,

I am a Christian and what I do represents Christ.

Over the next several minutes,

she escalated yet again and again.

So I paused again.

Finally, I said to her calmly,

ma', am,

I want to help you,

but I cannot do that if you're screaming at me.

I need to ask you questions and you're not allowing me to.

All I want to do is help you,

and I'm trying to make this as painless as possible.

After I said that,

she got quiet and all Of a sudden,

she calmed down.

She apologized,

and then she started to cry.

She told me she had just placed her mother in a care facility due to dementia.

Her mother was still alive,

but to her,

it felt like she already lost her.

She was grieving.

She was exhausted.

Now,

as we continued talking,

I learned that her mother was a believer,

and I gently asked her about her own faith.

She told me that she was a believer.

She told me that she prayed to God all the time.

She also said to me more than once,

you really don't know what you've done today.

You really don't know how much you've helped me.

And the way she said it,

I knew it was bigger than a bad day.

I'm not trying to be dramatic,

but I do believe that that woman was standing at the edge of something very dark.

I believe that she was thinking of doing the unthinkable.

But I also believe that being seen,

being heard,

and being reminded of God's nearness mattered.

Before I got off the phone with her,

I encouraged her to get some rest,

but not before she prayed.

She told me that she prays every day.

And I said,

when you feel this way,

you need to pray more.

You need to live under the shadow of his wings.

As she got off the phone with me,

her voice was different.

It was softer.

It was calmer.

It was full of hope.

She told me she loved me not once,

but twice.

And I told her that I loved her, too,

because I do.

I don't have to know her to love her.

I don't have to know her, to help her,

to see and hear that. She was in pain.

I mean,

so much pain.

And she didn't need to know me to love me.

All she needed to know was that her sister in Christ cared and was listening and was there for her.

She felt alone before she got on that phone,

but by the time she got off,

she realized.

She knew that she was not alone,

that she has Jesus,

and that she has brothers and sisters in Christ who believe in him just as she does and who want to be there for her when she needs help.

That's all she needed to know.

The most difficult thing in the world is to feel that you are in an immense amount of pain and no one sees you.

And it doesn't take much to let people know that we see them and that we care.

It doesn't take much, but it makes a world of difference.

What I did on the phone with that woman that day was ministry.

It wasn't from a pulpit.

It wasn't on My podcast, it wasn't from a stage. It wasn't even at a church.

It was on a phone line on New Year's Eve.

I spoke about the Lord passionately to that woman on the phone.

And when I went to the oil change place a few weeks ago and ran into that young man that I had ministered to years ago,

he told me,

I went home that day and told my girlfriend about you.

I said, this woman came into the store and she changed my day.

She comforted me.

And lo and behold,

years later,

he winds up taking care of me.

Because whether or not he realized it,

I was feeling kind of down that day.

It was one of those days when you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed and nothing seems to be going right and you just.

You can't get out of your own way.

I was having one of those days,

and running into him made my day.

It all comes back to ministry in motion.

I ministered to that woman while I was at work.

And wouldn't you know it,

she was my last phone call on New Year's Eve.

Do you think that was a coincidence?

I think not.

That was a God incident.

That is how we spread the gospel.

We do it every day wherever we are.

When we are the hands and feet of the Lord,

it does not matter where we stand.

It only matters that we stand on the rock that is our Lord Jesus Christ.

That is all that matters,

that we stand on his word and we preach the truth of the gospel and nothing but the truth.

And here's another thing.

Sometimes we're going to speak somebody who does know the truth of the gospel.

That woman knew Jesus.

She knew the good news.

She had heard it before.

She knew it.

But she needed to be reminded.

She needed to be encouraged.

And we all need that from time to time.

So sometimes when we bring the good news,

it's not that we're bringing it the first time.

Sometimes we're bringing it to remind them to turn to their Savior.

That day when I went for my oil change,

when I ran into that young man,

I had such a sense of urgency to go.

And I'm usually terrible about things like that.

I'll forget. I'll put it off.

But that day, I felt almost compelled to go.

And I truly believe that the Lord was telling me,

you may not remember every life that you've touched,

but they do.

Ministry moves with us because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

I felt the Lord press something on my soul through both of these experiences.

We leave seeds wherever we go,

through how we Love through how we speak,

how we notice people and try to nurture them.

God uses what we think cannot be used.

In his hands,

brokenness becomes beauty.

Pain becomes purpose,

suffering becomes substance.

In the Lord's hands, all of those things are transformed,

as are we.

When we tell people about the Lord our God,

who they cannot see but they sense him spiritually in you and me,

then our words carry weight.

It's not just what we say,

it's also how we say it.

It's not just about what we believe.

It's about how we behave.

We are living representations of what his love can do.

We can minister in stores,

we can minister on the phone.

We can minister in passing conversations.

That is how the Gospel spreads when we are the hands and feet of Jesus.

and how can anyone preach unless they are sent as it is written?

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Ministry is not stationary.

It is embodied.

It is lived.

Jesus didn't say,

when you arrive,

make disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of, and of the Holy Spirit.

Ministry can happen wherever we go,

as we move,

as we live,

as we obey.

And the early church understood this.

Your ministry is wherever the Lord places your feet.

Don't be discouraged if it doesn't look the way you expected.

Eventually it will exceed your expectations.

And sometimes God reminds you of that by bringing someone back into your life just to say yes,

you made a difference.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

we thank you for being a God who moves with us not just in sanctuaries,

but in ordinary places,

on phone lines,

in stores,

in moments we didn't plan and conversations we didn't expect.

Lord, remind us that ministry does not begin when we feel ready.

It begins when we are willing,

when we pause instead of receiving, react when we listen instead of rushing,

when we choose love over pride.

Thank you for every seed you allow us to plant,

even the ones we don't remember,

even the ones we never see grow.

Help us trust that nothing offered in love is ever wasted in your hands.

For the listener who feels unseen,

remind them that you see them fully.

For the one who feels weary from carrying too much,

invite them back under the shadow of your wings.

For the one who doubts that their obedience matters,

please quiet their heart and remind them that you keep perfect record.

Lord, align our steps with your will.

Teach us to walk in humility,

compassion and discernment,

and help us remember that wherever our feet go,

your spirit goes with us.

May we be faithful in motion,

faithful in pause,

and faithful in love.

God, we give you all the glory and we entrust every moment,

every seed and every soul into your care.

In the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ,

we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for listening.

If this episode blessed you,

please share it with someone who could use some encouragement.

If you're ready to dive deeper into my story of healing and transformation,

you can get my book From Broken to Butterfly on Amazon.

If you'd like to connect or would like to send in a prayer request,

you can DM me at Born to be a Butterfly on Instagram or you can email me@ninapajonesmail.com the link to my email is in my episode description.

Until next time.

Remember,

transformation is possible.

Healing is holy.

The Lord can turn your wounds in two wings.

You were born to be a butterfly.