Life lessons: $6

I just have to start this off by telling you that I ran upstairs to grab my Bible to work on this blog post and Eli said, "Oh Mommy! You read da Bible?" "Yep, I sure am!" I told him. His little eyes sparkled as he said "I want to read the Bible with us!" It was so sweet.

Yesterday I headed to Walmart to grab some thread and as we were walking in I saw a dog with a coat on; it's was pretty impressive, actually! The owner had cut the arms off a people coat and tied the excess fabric on the dog's back up with a hair tie. The dog was pad locked to a ginormous backpack and it was obvious he was a part of a homeless family. The Holy Spirit spoke to me in that moment so vividly that it rocked me to the core. I was now on a mission to strategically scour the whole store to find the dog's owners and help him/her out. Who cares about royal blue thread in a moment like this?

So I put the kids in the cart and took a loop through the store (swinging by the food section to get some peanut butter crackers- good for humans and coat-clad dogs alike!). I had been through the whole store and couldn't find them. "Lord," I prayed, "I don't know how I'll find these people, but I know You want me to help them, so I need you to help me find them!" I was now at the fabric dept, so I grabbed the silly thread and headed to the checkout so that I could pay for the crackers and at least leave them outside with the dog. As I was headed toward the front of the store, I passed a man and woman who were occupied looking at something. I screeched to a halt, whipped around and words flew out of my mouth without my sending them, "Is that your dog out front?"

They looked at me with a puzzled look and said, "Yeah, she's ours." I then explained that I wanted to help them and asked what they needed. They were $10 short to purchase a much needed backpack, so I gave them all the cash out of my wallet (which amounted to a whopping $6). We all walked together to the backpack section, where we began to get to know one another. Andrew and Ashley are from California but couldn't find work. Ashley's dad lives in South Carolina and told them that if they could get there, he would help them find work. So over the holidays they hitch hiked all the way from one coast to another, but upon arrival, her dad told them he didn't have work for them and they needed to go back to Cali.

Here they are in Edwardsville, Illinois, hungry and out of options. I asked if I could pray with them and they said yes! We prayed, talked a little more, and then I told them I needed to get going but that I would buy the crackers and leave them outside with the dog. I checked out, glad to have met two sweet new friends, and left the bag of snacks with "Sugar" the pit bull mutt. A mail carrier was out there waiting for Andrew and Ashley. Somehow, she had seen the dog and felt compelled to help, too! So I chatted with her for a few minutes and decided to wait with her for Andrew and Ashley to come out so I could see them one last time. When they came out, the mail lady talked to them for a couple minutes, never judging them for being in such a rough situation. I was amazed at how instantly she connected with them and then handed over a generous wad of cash. They literally leapt with excitement and said they could now buy the backpack so they didn't have to carry so many things in their arms.

We said our goodbyes and I headed to the van. Eli said, "Mommy, can I eat some of dose cheese crackers?" I tried to explain that we gave the crackers to our new friends Andrew, Ashley, and Sugar, but all I could do was cry. You see, God didn't bring me to Walmart at exactly the right time so that I could help Andrew, Ashley, and Sugar; rather, God sent me to Walmart at exactly the right time so that THEY could help ME! Through them, God taught me to "obey, right away" (like I tell Eli 100 times a day!). I learned that God has given my family and me SO much! Food, a beautiful home, two amazing children, a husband that provides an incredible life for us, two...count them, TWO working vehicles, and the list could go on for days! And through the mail lady, God taught me to love others with reckless abandon, always leaving judgment behind in a pile of dust. (James 2:13, Mercy triumphs over judgment!)

The Bible tells us in James 1:27 that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Andrew and Ashley may not have been orphans, but they were two people in need. And $6, a pack of cheesy peanut butter crackers, and 15 minutes of my day is of no value unless I use it as He leads.

My challenge to you is this: Who is your Andrew/Ashley and what is God calling you to do? Are your eyes open and willing to see those that God wants you to help? And finally, do you realize what an amazing life you and I live? God has been good to us. GREAT to us! I pray that I can somehow teach my children to be thankful to our gracious God, and to be just a gracious to others. Thank you, dear friends, letting my share with you my humbling Walmart life lesson!

In Christ,

Gwenny