– Monday Muse –
Dear One, a missed opportunity occurred while I was in J. C. Penney shopping for a gift. It is painful to recount this for I did not respond to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to respond. I did, but I held back too long, long enough to allow worldly thinking to override the spiritual.
A mother with two young daughters, probably five and seven, were passing by while I was standing at the jewelry counter. The older of the two girls was completely distraught, totally beside herself. From what I could tell she wanted her mother to purchase a particular item for her. The scene, as they circled the counter, went on for four, or five minutes. The hysterical girl trailed behind her mother, passionately pleading her case, and finally sat down on the floor, refusing to move unless her mother would acquiesce. The woman picked up her skinny, flailing child, but could only manage a few forward steps before losing hold of her. During the incessant conversation there was forceful, but never any ugly language or hateful tones. The behavior appeared to be out of the norm for the family, for the mother seemed perplexed.
As I stood there, I recalled a similar out of the norm incident with one of my sons when he was three-years-old. I was dropping off baked goods for the elementary school, bake sale. As we left the car, my quiet, well behaved son began wailing wildly. I could not find any reason for his distress, and he could not, or would not, be quieted or comforted. So, I carried his younger brother in one arm, my baked goods in the other, while he trailed behind screaming louder than I thought was possible. From the bake sale table, judgmental eyes greeted and followed me as piercing wails announced our arrival and departure. My son later confessed that he had been upset over having to get out of the driver’s side of the car instead of the passenger side. How can anyone make sense out of that? At age 47, our son still hasn’t.
As I stood at the counter recounting my experience with my own frantic child, I wanted to help both mother and child, but I did not. What could I say? How might the mother respond? People might think that I shouldn’t interfere.
The next morning, during my quiet time, I was reminded that I had not moved with the directive of the Holy Spirit. It seemed that God was instructing me that if I had acted, He would have given me the words. And there in that time alone with Him, He showed me how it could have played out; “I am the mother of five. I have experienced this. May I help you?”
Now, I was the distraught one, I would not get a do-over. I had failed. I wondered…what could I do? Nothing but pray for them. And right there, I failed again. For ‘Nothing but pray…’ is a horrible statement. The phrase should be stricken from every Christian’s thinking. Prayer is one of the most powerful gifts God gives to His people. Prayer gives access to God for carrying out His will. Foolish me.
I hope I have learned two life lessons, one – to not withhold help, and the other – to not make light of prayer, ever.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession
and thanksgiving be made for everyone–” 1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
Blessings,
Susanne
For a printed copy, with or without photo, click green dot on left side at the bottom of this page.
If you would like a Monday reminder, and quick link, in your email to next week’s post, just sign-in at the secure registry at the top of this page, and click GO. For a private conversation, please write your message on the Contact page.
