I am sharing this story for two reasons:

1.  To illustrate that God knows what He’s doing and we should listen when He whispers.

2.  To remind us that we are surrounded by hurting, wounded people every day.

Two or three weeks ago, I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee before work.  She wanted a couple of books and just a time to catch up, so I brought two copies of HANDled with me.  Due to crazy circumstances on her end (and God’s divine knowledge), she never made it to the coffee shop.  As I sat they by myself eating my oatmeal and sipping my tea, I noticed a woman a couple of tables away who was having a very intense conversation with a friend.  I could tell by her face that she was holding back tears.  You know the look – the nose starts getting red, the eyes begin to water and the chin begins to wobble.  And then it happened.  The floodgates opened and the tears spilled.

I have always had an internal struggle when these things happen.  I want to walk over and hug the person who is hurting, but I’m also aware that most people would not respond warmly to being hugged by a complete stranger.  So I just kept to my writing and tried to put it out of my mind, glad that she had a friend to confide in.

But I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t just walk away.  There was something deep going on that I just couldn’t bring myself to ignore.  She kept looking over at me and catching my eye.  Possibly because this strange woman kept looking at her.  I smiled a sympathetic smile, but tried again to mind my own business.

And then there was that little voice.  That whisper in my ear saying, “Give her one of your books.”  What???? That’s crazy!  And it seemed so, well, presumptuous.  Again, I tried to sit still and hope that the whispering would stop.  It didn’t.

I argued back and forth with God for  a little while.  It went something like this…

God:  Why don’t you share one of the books that you “just happen” to have here?

Me:  What?  That’s crazy!  I’m a complete stranger and I don’t even know her story.

God:  You don’t have to know her story.  I know her story.  She just needs to know I love her.  Please give her a book.

Me:  But that looks like I’m promoting myself.  I don’t want her to feel obligated or awkward.

God:  It’s not about you.  It’s about me loving her and you telling her so when she needs it most.

Me:  Seems pretty presumptuous.

God:  So this is a pride thing?  Are you going to let an opportunity to share my love pass you by because your pride won’t let you reach out.

Me:  Okay fine.  I have an idea…what if I leave the book with the gal at the counter that I know and she gives it to the crying girl after I leave?

God:  Okay.  But write her a simple little note in the front telling her I’m here with her.

Me:  Deal.

So that’s what I did.  That way she didn’t feel obligated, I didn’t feel like I was pushing myself on her, but she would still get the message.  I left wondering what the outcome would be but not worried about it because I knew it was what God asked me to do.

Today I came in to the same coffee shop and ordered my same oatmeal and tea.  As I was paying, the girl at the counter said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you since I gave that gal your book that day.  I need to tell you that she was moved to tears and so thankful that you did that for her.”

I just smiled and thanked Jesus.  I had almost missed an opportunity to offer God’s love to  a hurting soul. My pride had almost gotten in the way of passing on a love note from Jesus. I may never see this person again. In her life, that was all God asked me to do at this point.  He’ll take it from here.

Every day we have little opportunities to touch a life.  We just need to listen for the prompting of the whisper and watch for the signs of a soul in need…

Matthew 9:36 – When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.