Time
for my 2nd post…and it only took me 8 months!! I have to be really, really inspired to want
to write. I'd much rather just say it, but writing is much quicker...for you anyway...I tend to chase a LOT of rabbits!
Well, yesterday morning, I went to
Wal-Mart. No makeup and dirty hair in a “ponytail”…of
COURSE it was Wal-Mart! You can go there
looking like that and nobody cares! It’s
one of the reasons I like Wal-Mart! Anyway…I found what I needed and got in line at a register for 10 items or less...I
had 9. The lady who was in front of me
got there just before I did…she had about 20 items. Now those of you who know me are probably
thinking that I pointed out the error to her…but you would be wrong!! I didn’t!
For some reason, and probably for the 1st time in my life, I
didn’t even care! After a couple of
minutes, she turned around and asked me if I wanted to go ahead of her. I wish that I’d said, “No thank you!”, after all, I wasn't in a hurry, but I
didn’t, and accepted her kind offer. As
I was paying for my stuff, another woman got in line. She was well-dressed, with makeup and hair
perfectly styled…what’s up with that?? She proceeded to tell the woman in front
of her that she was in the wrong line…”Didn’t you read the sign??” Well, I had to put in my 2 cents, so
I said, “She let me get in front of her, so she’s already done her good
deed!” The lady let her go in front of
her and I gathered up my bags. As I
left, I thanked the woman again, and mouthed “I’m sorry”. She winked at me and I left.
Now most people will probably think that
the 2nd lady was completely within her rights to complain and I
don’t deny that. I have problems
standing in line too, especially when people don’t follow procedures!! (Maybe it’s the 1st grade teacher
in me!) However, as a Christian, who
constantly asks the Lord to show me opportunities to share His love, demanding my
“rights” in these situations seems kind of petty. I wonder what is more important to Him?
Some may question whether I even shared
God’s love with the woman. After all, she was the one who let me get in front of her. All I did was defend her to the 2nd woman. I
didn’t even say His name, or ask if she was saved. Can you share His love without talking about
Him? Well, God taught me a lesson about
that several years ago.
Kayla &
Kristopher were 5 & 2 and I had been wondering how God could use me when I didn’t know any lost people. I was either
at home or at church, and felt very isolated from the “real” world. One morning I dropped Kayla off at
kindergarten, and Kristopher & I headed to the grocery store. As I pushed the cart down an aisle, I passed
a man, who had on torn, dirty clothes.
He had no cart and no groceries.
We looked at each other, smiled, and said hello. I turned down the next aisle and passed him
again and we smiled and said hello. This
happened a third time and we sort of laughed and said hi. Outwardly I was friendly, but inside I was
getting a little worried. He had no
groceries and didn’t really look like he was shopping for anything. I sort of hid out in the dairy section for
awhile, and then tiptoed up & peeked around the produce to see if he was up
front. I didn’t see him so I checked out
quickly and went to my car. As I was
putting Kristopher in his car seat, I looked up and the man was on the
passenger side of the car, which immediately put me in my brain stem…you know,
“Fight or flight!” I chose “flight”! As
I shoved Kris into the car, preparing to lock both of us up inside, the man
said, “Hi!” and I said, “Hi!”, again!
Then he said, “You’re a Christian aren’t you?”, to which I answered,
“Yes!” As he walked away he said, “I
just wanted you to know, I could tell.”
Now I’d love to tell you that we sat down and I shared the gospel with
him, but I didn’t. I was still in
panic-mode, locked in my car with my son, and my groceries still in the
cart. I sat in there awhile thanking God
for saving us from the scary man and trying to calm down. Then, it finally dawned on me what had just
happened. How did he know??? I said a
total of 5 words to him…”Hello! Hello! Hi!
Hi! Yes!”. How’s that for some witnessing skills!! I soon realized a couple of things. First, God doesn’t necessarily need my
words…He just needs me to go! Wherever I
go…He goes, right? So, if I’m at Wal-Mart, He’s at Wal-Mart. When I go to get a pedicure, He’s right
there, too. And…when I’m at school, a
place where many believe He is no longer allowed, He is there! He not only needs me to go though, He also needs me to look up! He needs me to see people and acknowledge
their presence. There are so many people
He puts in our paths everyday and most of the time we are in such a hurry or so
focused on ourselves or our phones that we don’t even see them.
I know with all of my being that God put
that man in my path and I’m so glad I looked up. I’m grateful to the Lord for such a clear
answer to my questions about sharing His love.
You see it’s His love, not mine, and His Holy Spirit is more than
capable of expressing His love however He wants.
Sometimes, He calls me to speak, but I think, more often than not, He
just calls me to look up, to smile, to care.
Well, that's about it. Maybe in my next post, I'll tell you about the time I witnessed to a cashier by buying a soap opera magazine! That one's a doozy!!
