I am a firm believer that nothing ever, ever happens by chance. Now, everything may not have value – but nothing ever occurs haphazardly, without cause and reason.
Pulling out of the Meijer parking lot last night with my sister and brother in the backseat, we were about the turn down the road towards home when I was struck with the realization that I had forgotten to purchase eggs. Eggs, the one thing we had actually come to the store for. And I had totally forgotten. After a moments deliberation and not wanting to try and reverse the car, we decided to get into the right lane and go to Walmart, which was just the next driveway down.
I pulled into the first parking spot I saw, we all jumped out, and I nearly walked right into a woman struggling with her shopping cart. As I apologized and tried to get around her, she called out to us, “Wait, please, I need help.”
Tori immediately glanced at me, took David’s hand, gave me a nod and said, “I’ll see you inside.” I turned to the woman and asked her what it was she needed, noticing a cart full of shopping supplies and a cane perched on the cart handle. She was my mom’s age, maybe a little younger. She puffed nervously on her cigarette and said, “I just need a ride home. I’m so tired, and the L.E.T.S. bus left without me. I can’t walk home, not tonight. I live just across town. Can you please drive me home?”
The worldly part of me did quick scan of her belongings, trying to see if she could have been hiding a weapon or something under her clothing or bag, but she wasn’t wearing very much. In fact, she was shivering so violently that she could barely speak. The Holy Spirit, very gently, said, “She’s telling you the truth.” I asked her name, where she lived, and then helped her carry her bags to the trunk and opened the passenger side door for her to climb in. She put out her cigarette, I quickly tucked my fixed-blade under my thigh and, completely ignoring everything I’ve ever been taught about getting into a car with a total stranger, pulled out of the lot.
Her name was Crystal. She had been diagnosed with severe fibromyalgia, and had undergone a botched surgery on her spine that left her awkward and extremely physically weak. She lived alone, as her husband had divorced her after discovering the expense of her illness, so now she relied on public transport to take her to places like Walmart in order to shop.
Over and over, Crystal kept saying, “God bless you. God meant for me to find you tonight. God bless you.” A nagging question arose in my heart, and about halfway to her house, I asked her, “Crystal, do you know Jesus?” It turned out she did. We talked the rest of the way home about how much she loved the Lord, about needing a church, and about how perfect God’s timing is.
When I got to her house, I carried her bags up the stairs, and watched as she struggled to make it up the steps without falling sideways. Her oven was on, and the door was hanging open, giving off feeble heat to the entire dark house. I asked her if her heating was broken; turns out that her landlord had neglected to fix it for over a week now. There was nothing I could say that would have soothed any amount of pain she was in, but I took out my phone and asked for her number. I said I knew my church would welcome her at any time, and that I would be checking up to make sure she was doing okay.
She pulled me into a firm embrace, and smiled with shining eyes as she expressed once more how thankful she was. We exchanged “happy thanksgiving”, laughed a little, and then she disappeared inside.
May I never be too busy or too self-conscious to stop and listen to someone’s story. May we never be too concerned with present matters to overlook things that are eternal. Jesus, make me an expression of your love.
Happy Thanksgiving, 2014.
