If you’ve been following my newsletters, you’ll remember that I went to the park in the beginning of December, and after having a strange feeling that I should bring an extra coffee mug, I did indeed receive an unexpected visitor when a little girl (and her little dog too!) appeared in the quiet park and stopped a while to chat. This evening park-picnic ended with an invitation to a second more official park-picnic. I wasn’t quite sure how God would use this, but I knew He would.
Within the SAME WEEKEND, I got the idea that maybe God was using that first encounter in the quiet park with the little girl, to prepare me for another encounter in a larger park with an older woman.
Only 2 days after meeting the little girl (and her little dog too!) in the more secluded park on the far side of town, I spent my afternoon in a larger, more populated park closer to my house. I stared at the ground for a long time then I made observations about the people sitting, walking, biking, skating around me. (All education here.) And as the sun started to tuck itself into bed, selfishly hiding behind the tall buildings at the edge of the park, I decided I should just go to the store, get what I needed, and head home for a calm evening.
But as I cut through the park on my way back from the store, (Guacamole ingredients in hand,) something caught my eye. A woman- sitting alone, with a backpack… in a now almost empty- almost dark- getting chilly, park. And my heart started beating faster.
“Ughh,” I heard myself think. (And a slight *smh* style chuckle as I remembered that we shared stories the week before in youth group, of allowing ourselves to be used by the Holy Spirit when we felt his calling. A common denominator in all of our stories was a quickened heart rate and an internal, “ughh.”)
So, I asked God what He had for me for her- how I could be used by Him- and I turned and took a lap around the park. I decided that if she was still there as I came around the second time I would simply ask, “Is everything okay?” And maybe I could just pay for her an Uber… It seemed a harmless way to help.
When I came around the second time, I knew I had to stop. Probably this would be embarrassing, but there are worse things in life to be than embarrassing.
It was an awkward conversation.
“Um hi, sorry, I just had a strange feeling that I should come and ask if everything is okay?”
“Um, yes, I’m fine…”
“Oh okay… well, that’s great.” (But I couldn’t leave yet!!) “Umm… well, I just figured, we women have to look out for each other sometimes. You know… yeah… but… everything is okay? I know, it’s really weird, I just felt like I should ask if everything was okay,”
“Well… actually, I’m pretty stressed and nervous. I’m looking for a job recently. You’re not from here are you? I’m from another country too. How long have you been here?”
“I’ve been here almost a year. And you, how many months have you been here?”
“Months? No, I came 2 weeks ago.”
After talking a little more, we prayed, and I invited her to church. We said we’d like to keep in contact. I relate on being a foreigner here in this country. We both have to build a little community around us. We exchanged phone numbers and I’m hoping to get to know her better and hear more of her story. Would you be praying with me for my new friend M? I would love to see her plugged into a community with a strong support system. There’s no reason for someone to feel so alone when there are waiting, open arms.