Do you ever have a day where you know God is in your midst? It's rare for me and hard to see through all the busy parts of life. God seems to fade into the background instead of staying in the foreground. That's our fault, you know.
If we occupy our time with other things such as people, technology, so called busy-ness, God can be really hard to see.
But today, I saw God and it's in the picture above. My older two went to preschool, so my youngest and I did some errands. Finally making our way to my favorite restaurant, Panera. I was celebrating the easiness of taking one child out and taking pictures of her on our date. Little did I know that when I put down my camera, God would show up in the most unique way.
I saw an elderly lady shaking. Her feet were shaking, her hands and head were shaking. She was frustrated because she couldn't eat her soup and threw down her spoon exasperated. My heart broke for her. I wondered if she was sitting alone? From my angle, I could only see half her table. But then, someone younger put out their arm and scooped up the soup for her...and then fed her. It was the greatest act of love I had seen in a long time. The person continued to help as needed but gave the elderly lady enough respect to try for herself too.
I looked at Tiny feeding herself small bites of turkey and cheese. It was the complete circle of life right before my eyes. We start as babies and if we are lucky and blessed, our parents/grandparents will take care of us. And as we age and mature, we hope that our babies will do the same for us one day.
I thought to myself,"I wish I could help this lady. I wish there was something I could do."
Then I knew the answer,"There's nothing I can do.Accept pray for the elderly lady and give the younger person encouragement."
I really struggled with it though. One of my spiritual gifts is NOT praying in public. It's just not in my personality to go up and pray for someone. But I felt like I needed to. Like God WANTED me to. I must obey Him.
So after we finished eating, I threw away my plate, took a deep breath of courage and made my way over.
There was a woman helping her. We made eye contact and I said,"I just want you to know that I saw you from my corner and you touched my heart. What tremendous respect and love you have. Are you the daughter?" Yes she was.
I looked at the elderly lady and said,"How can I pray for you?"
She had kind blue eyes. "Just pray," she said and reached out her hand to me.
I gladly took her shaking hand and holding back tears, I poured my heart out to Our Father for her.
When I opened my eyes, everyone was looking. But I didn't care because when we are going through something tough, it is the support and encouragement of others that gives us strength. When there is nothing physical we can do, then fall back on the supernatural power of prayer. There was a connection as I held her hand and I know God heard every word.
Why am I sharing this with you? Not to say,"Look at me, look what I did!" But to say, "I saw a glimpse of goodness and love today in a world that denies the mighty power of God. We MUST BE the hands and feet of Christ. We are the light in this dark world. When we obey Him, we not only get a blessing but in turn bless others."
“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ””
Acts of the Apostles 20:35
“I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”
Isaiah 46:4 NLT
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