It was a Thursday afternoon and we were going to visit the local hospital and see who the Lord led us to.
The previous week we talked with a woman who’s friends son was in the 2nd floor with cancer. We went to visit him and couldn’t visit him so we left him a note of prayer, which led us to a great convo with the security guard that was on the elevator with us. It was the coolest thing to see a sequence of events planned by a Lord that wanted us to experience sharing His love- so this week, I was eager for more.
This week was different, because I never made it out of the parking lot.
As we were walking to the entrance doors Kari (our host for the month) stopped and said ‘The Lord wants me to go talk to that woman under the tree’. So without hesitation, Scarlett {scarlettmccall.theworldrace.org} & I said we would go with her.
We walked over to the right of the hospital wing and found a woman sitting on the curb, behind parked cars so she wasn’t that visible. We asked if we could sit with and talk. She accepted, so we sat on the concrete surrounding her and started asking questions.
This is her story: she was a mother of 7, with no father who lived in the house. Her youngest was very sick and had been in the hospital for a couple months now. They didn’t know what was exactly wrong with him yet, but he was constantly throwing up or having diarrhea. Because she loved this son so much, she was staying at the hospital day after day, just so she could see him during the two hour visiting slot the hospital allowed. Yes. She waited all day, just so she could see him for the two hours that she was allowed. Even though she was the only provider for her home, she had to quit her job so she could be at the hospital with her son. Since she was already poor, and had no income now, she didn’t have money to stay at a hotel every night in David (the city we were in). So where did she sleep every night? Guess…
The parking lot.
Yup.
She left her house to be homeless for her son who she loved so much. She left her job and other kids to take care of her youngest. She loved him so much that she would spend all day just to visit him for two hours, with no garantee of shelter or food.
That’s love y’all.
As we heard her story, we couldn’t help but connect the way she loves her son to how much Jesus loves us. We shared about how much she is loved, and how the Lord also waits all day for us, no matter the visiting hours he might get with us. Just like her and her son, He is waiting till He’s invited in to simply spend time with us. He loves her MORE than she loves her son! He sits with us no matter where we are! He just wants to sit with us, no matter the mess or celebration. He simply wants time with us- no matter the space!
That’s love y’all.
We left her with prayers that reminded her of her worth and that the Lord sees her just like she sees her son. We encouraged her as a mother and daughter of God, because she’s not alone in this.
So…
Where is the Lord sitting if you were in the hospital room? Is he sitting in the parking lot waiting to be invited in or is He sitting right next to you?
The Lord loves you! Allow yourself to accept, believe, and thrive in that!
From the African Cold,
Anna
