And I Thought I Was Just Meandering…

(For the audio recording of this post, click on the bar above)

 

How I ended up in women’s shoes at Walmart, I’ll never know. I didn’t even need shoes. I was just meandering.

I had dropped off my fourth son at a Father-Son campout and honestly, I was a bit lost. No good reason to make dinner, no “Mommy, he took my yo-yo!,” no little teeth to brush.

So, I meander through Walmart. 

Since the weather is turning colder, I pick up a few pairs of much-needed dress pants and shirts for my boys. I honestly hate paying full-price for new clothes, even at Walmart.

If only there were a discount, a coupon, something to help me feel like the victorious bargain-hunter that I am. My frugal-to-a-fault side swallows hard as I drape 4 pairs of pants and 4 shirts over my arm.

Then, I meander towards the front of the store- browsing as I meander.

I round the corner into an aisle of women’s shoes. There, a woman leans over her cart looking at her phone. She glances over at me and then back at her phone. She’s classy, 50-something, dressed in a light green suit coat, her shoulder-length black hair sleek and shiny.

She seems to be reading a text and remarks, “Ugh!” and then, “Really?”

I pretend to look at a pair of boots. But I have to ask. “Are you okay?”

She whirls around, “Oh, honey! No, I am not okay. Ever feel like that?”

I nod, “Oh, yes. I’ve felt like that.”

She goes on.  “It’s my mother! We cannot get along.”

I nod. “I’m so sorry. My mom passed away 2 years ago from breast cancer. And our relationship was tough sometimes, too.”

Her face looks….astonished. Mouth open, eyes wide. “Do you know- I felt a presence when you came around that corner. And I knew God had sent you to me.”

What? Are you kidding? I suddenly realize this isn’t a chance encounter. In fact, I’m pretty sure an angel is peeking around the corner, grinning.

For the next half hour, she pours out her heart. Right there in Women’s Shoes. I listen. She stomps mad and cries sad and tells of all her frustrations and dreams of a relationship with her mom.

While she fumes, I can’t help but picture her one day. One day in the future- when she sits at her mom’s gravesite, like I do now. I know how short life is. And how we don’t know just how much time we have left with our moms.

I offer a few words of advice, but mostly just listen. And in the end, I ask if I can pray for her. She nods, “Yes,” then lifts her hands as I pray, wanting to receive whatever God will give.

With my hand on the back of her suit coat, I ask God to give her the strength to have compassion, to love her mom with no regrets, to not give up, and to finish well.

We share an “Amen!” and a hug.

Then she starts fishing around in her purse. “You ministered to me tonight. And so I want to give you a love offering.”

A love offering!?  What?

She pulls out a $20 bill and hands it to me!  I’m flabbergasted.  I think God just handed me my discount.

“Oh my goodness- I wasn’t expecting that!  Thank you!”

She says, “Maybe you can get yourself a pair of shoes.”

I laugh. “I don’t even need any shoes. I was just meandering.”

As she walks away, I smile. To me, it was meandering. To God, it was a divine appointment.

 

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