I spent some time in a doctor’s office waiting room yesterday. It never ceases to amaze me. God’s love opportunities in the most random of places…
A woman was sitting a few chairs away from me. She had struggled to come through the door. She was much too young to need the walker that was clearly her source of stability. We smiled at each other. She commented on my shoes, saying they looked comfortable and that she had a hard time finding shoes that would support and comfort her feet. After telling her where I’d found mine, her look at me lingered and i knew that she didn’t want the conversation to be over. Something in her eyes. I scooted over two more chairs to be closer to her. A tenderness passed between us and then I asked her what would normally be considered an inappropriate question, but at that moment seemed like the right thing to do. “Why do you have your walker?” I asked.
She shared freely about the medical conditions that mark her life. The conversation then went to her excruciatingly painful past. A past that would zap the life out of any person and leave a bitter, hollow shell. But she was anything but that. She had this amazing heart and soul. Tender. Loving. Compassionate. Amazing. She is writing a book to encourage others who have survived horrid happenings. To let them know that there is hope and true love available to them.
Which prompted my next question. “Did your journey bring you to faith?” I asked. Her answer was sweet. She said that she doesn’t attend church, but that every Sunday and Wednesday she reads and immerses herself in her bible. So precious.
Our conversation had to end too quickly as she had her appointment and I had to leave. So we exchanged names, numbers and emails. I hope to learn more about this sweet woman and her story. To know if she has a love relationship with Jesus. To cheer her on in her work to help others.
I walked away with a smile on my face. A new friend. A friend who had endured much and chosen to use her experiences to reach out to other hurting people. Inspiring. Amazing.
Another reminder that there are two things I have found in meeting “random” strangers…Everyone loves to hear their own name, and to be truly listened to. These two things seem to free people up to share their hearts, those deep inside things that rarely come out.
I guess it makes sense that these are two needs that we have as humans. Needs that God fulfills – David says in Psalm 5:3 – Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice.” And Isaiah says in Isaiah 49:1 – “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth He has made mention of my name.”
Lord, help me to remember names and say them freely and frequently. Open my ears and ready my heart to be available to those you bring my way. And thanks for speaking to me through my new friend.
