Divine Appointment?

I was idly noticing as we went into Walmart how varied the dress was among the customers.  One woman who just came out was dressed to the nines, while others couldn't have been more casual (to put it mildly).  Then I saw an older woman striding briskly along in a coordinated cropped pants outfit and thought how attractive she looked. 

We were only in the store a few minutes, and when we came out, I saw the same lady, windblown and harried looking, rushing in and out between the rows of parked vehicles.  "Howard, that lady can't find her car!" I nudged my husband.  "Say something to her!" 

"How are you, Ma'am?" he spoke as we approached her, to which she replied, running her hand distractedly through her short, white bob, "Not very good right now.  I can't find my car!"  She said she thought she remembered parking it right there.  I could thoroughly sympathize, as that had happened to us many times.

"What color is it?  We'll help you find it," my husband  assured her.  She told us it was a silver Buick, and it seemed every other car in the parking lot was silver.  After a few minutes, he asked if she could sound her car alarm on her key holder.  By this time we were several rows over, and about the time the alarm sounded, she spotted it.  Evidently it had been too far away to connect before.  She thanked us and hurried across the parking lot toward it.

My heart went out to the woman, imagining the panic and confusion she must have felt.  When I thought about it later, I realized we were at the right place at the right time once again.  (One day last summer I had helped a lost child wandering confused outside Walmart  find her grandmother.)  How strange that today we would walk into the store, go directly to the items we wanted, and go through the check-out, all  in 10 minutes or less?  I don't think I have ever come out of  Walmart in less than half an hour!

And why was I taking note of people I observed as we went in?  Normally, I might not even notice, intent on my shopping purposes.  Thankfully, no unscrupulous person took advantage of the senior citizen in her distress, thinking her an easy prey with car keys to a Buick in her hand.  One can only imagine a different scenario.  Evidently, the lady had gone into one entrance of the store and came out the other exit (we've done that, too!).

I believe the Holy Spirit gives us these nudges, makes us alert at the right time, and uses us to be a neighbor to a total stranger. 

Majoring on Minors

Breakfast looked so good!  I was hungry!  I had gone to special effort to make the biscuits Howard wanted and the grits I was in the mood for;  the eggs and turkey bacon were finished just as everything was ready. I had even put a handful of blueberries in a dish and placed a small bowl of rounded orbs of juicy, glistening watermelon on the table.

I sighed  with satisfaction as I surveyed the quaint little breakfast table we'd found that just fit into our kitchen.  After the blessing, I  reached for the pepper to sprinkle my eggs, when suddenly I was looking down at a thick black mass over everything!  The top had come off the shaker! "Why does everything happen to me when I try so hard!"  I couldn't help exclaiming. 

Just two days before, we had scheduled the cable man out to hook up our services after our recent move.  I was so excited to be back on internet and connected to the world again I could hardly wait for the appointment.  I was awake bright and early and had all the chores finished in preparation for the service call to be between 8:00 a.m. and noon.   He seemed to be taking his time,  though, I thought, when Howard remarked, "Who was that call from when the phone rang so long awhile ago?"

"What call?  Why didn't you answer it?  It was probably the cable man!"  I cried.  I called back the number and got the recording that since we hadn't answered, they would have to reschedule.  So, complaining profusely,  I had to wait another day (which I was afraid would be even longer). 

Well, I was able to salvage my breakfast, our living room is now alive with sound and color, and I am back online.  It had been an intense couple of weeks as I tried to reconstitute our house after moving our belongings back in, hanging pictures (the nails were still in the right places), unpacking and searching for lost items.  Where had I packed our stainless tableware?  We'd been using three forks and two spoons and sharing a knife for days!  I knew I had sorted it neatly into its tray, wrapped and tied a dishtowel around it and put it...where? Into a basket, I thought.  But unpacking some miscellaneous items yesterday, I spied the familiar bundle at the bottom of a box!  Praise God!

It wasn't the first time I had prayed and found something.  Retrieving things from storage, I searched high and low for my pot rack.  After several forays, I prayed once again, "God please let me find my pot rack." I raised my eyes and there it was, leaning against the wall beside a full-length mirror!

The house is beautiful again, and now I can reflect and thank God for my blessings.  He was there all the time!