God made a tiny little miracle happen today for me and for Caroline and for a lady whose name we don't know.
We went to get gas and the lady, an older lady with silvery hair and a pretty purple sweater, was finishing up. We waited for her pump. She pulled away and we pulled up to the gas tank. As I walked to the pump, I saw something glinting on the ground. I bent to pick it up. It was a blue and silver credit card. I knew it must be hers, so I looked around hoping to catch her. She was gone. I bent inside the car and asked Caroline to pray. I prayed too. "Lord, I can take it in the store but she may need it before they find her. It could get lost again. Please, let this lady come right back for her card."
Before I could say "Amen", Caroline said, "Mama, there she is!" and, sure enough, there she was driving up. I saw the panic in her eyes, and ran over to her, waving the card high. When I gave it to her, the look of relief was unmistakable. "I didn't know what I would do," she said, obviously still stressed. "I have never done this before and if I hadn't gone to Publix, I wouldn't have known." I gave her a hug and told her I'd done it myself and I was just glad she came back. She straightened her shoulders. "Well," she said, a bit hesitantly, "I have actually never done that before but I'm a bit forgetful lately." She looked down at her card, fingered it slowly, and then looked at me again. "It's frightening, really."
In that moment, we connected. I knew what she wasn't saying, because I've felt it myself. That secret small worry, wondering about not remembering how to spell a word, or forgetting how to turn on the computer. I don't know if she is talking about normal aging, or if she is afraid of the possibility of something more serious, but I did get that uneasy concern. I've felt it many times since brain surgery, wondering if my forgetfulness, those "black spaces" where I can't remember how to do something I've done a million times automatically, wondering if those would lead to more, and worse.
But I'm just fine, and so is my brain, and so, I'm sure, is she. It was just one little connection, one small encounter that left us both relieved and happy, and I know that it was God Who sent her back, gave her the "impulsive" (as she described it) desire to go to another store just around the corner. And who is to know whether God needed to do something bigger than return the card to her?
Maybe it was His sweet way of using the little things...a forgotten credit card and a quick prayer sent up fast...to bless three people today. My daughter, a stranger, and me. We got to see a bit of grace right there in the Quiktrip parking lot.
We went to get gas and the lady, an older lady with silvery hair and a pretty purple sweater, was finishing up. We waited for her pump. She pulled away and we pulled up to the gas tank. As I walked to the pump, I saw something glinting on the ground. I bent to pick it up. It was a blue and silver credit card. I knew it must be hers, so I looked around hoping to catch her. She was gone. I bent inside the car and asked Caroline to pray. I prayed too. "Lord, I can take it in the store but she may need it before they find her. It could get lost again. Please, let this lady come right back for her card."
Before I could say "Amen", Caroline said, "Mama, there she is!" and, sure enough, there she was driving up. I saw the panic in her eyes, and ran over to her, waving the card high. When I gave it to her, the look of relief was unmistakable. "I didn't know what I would do," she said, obviously still stressed. "I have never done this before and if I hadn't gone to Publix, I wouldn't have known." I gave her a hug and told her I'd done it myself and I was just glad she came back. She straightened her shoulders. "Well," she said, a bit hesitantly, "I have actually never done that before but I'm a bit forgetful lately." She looked down at her card, fingered it slowly, and then looked at me again. "It's frightening, really."
In that moment, we connected. I knew what she wasn't saying, because I've felt it myself. That secret small worry, wondering about not remembering how to spell a word, or forgetting how to turn on the computer. I don't know if she is talking about normal aging, or if she is afraid of the possibility of something more serious, but I did get that uneasy concern. I've felt it many times since brain surgery, wondering if my forgetfulness, those "black spaces" where I can't remember how to do something I've done a million times automatically, wondering if those would lead to more, and worse.
But I'm just fine, and so is my brain, and so, I'm sure, is she. It was just one little connection, one small encounter that left us both relieved and happy, and I know that it was God Who sent her back, gave her the "impulsive" (as she described it) desire to go to another store just around the corner. And who is to know whether God needed to do something bigger than return the card to her?
Maybe it was His sweet way of using the little things...a forgotten credit card and a quick prayer sent up fast...to bless three people today. My daughter, a stranger, and me. We got to see a bit of grace right there in the Quiktrip parking lot.
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