I met a woman at Wal-Mart
Yesterday, I met a woman at Wal-Mart. We hugged and cried... and we were strangers.
I was stopping by to print some photographs for a friend. As I walked up to the photo printing kiosk, I noticed this woman at the one next to mine. There was a memorial pamplet in her buggy that caught my eye. There was a photograph of a beautiful young girl and below was her name, "Amanda Dawn" and her date of death, March 25, 2008.
As I stood there, the newness of this passing of life overwhelmed me. I put in my camera card and noticed she was just standing there, in front of her screen, staring at a collage of photographs of this young girl. My heart started aching and I could physically feel this woman needed to be hugged. Abby was with me and I kept telling myself, this is SUCH a private thing, don't bother her. So I started going through my pictures and just continued to feel such pain and longing to hug this woman... mercy. So I am fighting with myself and trying to figure out what I needed to do and before I knew it... words just came out of my mouth.
"Have you lost someone special?" I asked. She turned and looked at me and said, "My daughter." In that moment, my heart swelled and tried to come out of my throat and I struggled to say, "I am so very sorry." She turned towards me and continued... "She was my best friend... the other half of me. I found her dead on the floor... you just can't imagine what that's like." I could not hold myself back any longer and just embraced her and we both began to weep. I told her that my daughter struggles with an illness and I have feared on several occassions being where she now stood and my heart just hurt for her. She squeezed me tighter and told me that my hug was an Amanda Dawn hug. She said that she felt Amanda had sent me to hug her because she didn't want her to be sad.
We talked, hugged, and cried a little more and then we went our seperate ways. Her name is Judy. She has lost her precious daughter whom she simply said was very sick. She was 21 years old. She told me she feared she'd not done enough for her daughter and I begged her not to blame herself and reminded her that Amanda was and had been in the Saviors hand. She said she found comfort in knowing that Amanda had seen the face of God and was being comforted and loved.
Please say a prayer for this precious mother. As I watched her walk across the parking lot... I was overcome at how she was just trying to get through the day... trying to act normal in the midst of such loss and my heart was and continues to be so saddened for her. So I am asking for prayers for this precious woman, Judy. Please pray that she will see God each and every day and with each day she gets through, God will give her more and more comfort, strength, and peace.
hi- my name is Heidi Watters(truedefiance.blogspot.com), i found you through Teecy, who actually doesn't know me, i found teecy thru my good friend kelli mathison(kellimath.blogspot.com). I know you dont know me, but after reading about Judy , I felt so compelled to write and tell you that i would be praying for judy. I just lost my baby girl, the day after palm sunday. And though i can't imagine losing my best friend, daughter, i am greiving that i didn't even have that oportunity. And amist the crippling pain i can still see God at work to bring himslef glory. While i was reading this post your song "bring the rain" came from your playlist. and the line " bring me anything that will bring you glory" was sung. that is the biggest lesson so far that God has impressed on my heart through losing Jasmine. its amazing hpw God's timing is even in the small things too. Thank yuo for sharing, I totally have those moments that i struggle between the discernment my heart is giving when it defies our cultural norms. and sadly more often than not i dont listen. But i think God is changing that in me through this loss... a toast to you to many more wal mart encounters!
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I tried to click on you to write you back but there is no blog there! So, I'll post here and maybe you will come back and read it.
ReplyDeleteI am touched that you left a message and do pray that God gave you some strength, hope, and comfort. You are precious to pray for Judy amidst your own sorrow. I am also so very sorry for the tragic loss of Jasmine. Losing a child is just so tragic and unnatural. But you are right... God is there, in the midst of it all, and it ALL can be used to bring him glory.
"Bring the Rain" has given me great comfort in times of stress and fears. I could have never imagined my walk with the Lord being this close and intimate. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that harder things in my life have brought and drawn me closer to Him. I "know" things in the inner most dwelling places of my soul that can only come from walking in the valley and in that knowledge comes trust and peace that is beyond understanding. I do so pray that God showers you with His presence and that you see Him in the smile of a stranger, the song of a bird, or the gentle touch of a breeze when you most need it.
I will pray for you as well and am blessed that you shared your story. You are a new friend to me today... a sister in Christ... and I send you a BIG HUG across the internet lines!
Dawn
yeh... that link doesn't to my go my blog for some reason. but this is it truedefiance.blogspot.com. thank you for embracing me, a complet stranger! ity is so rare to find women who love Jesus and truly try to love them with there lives. i wish i had 20 of them that were as serious about it as I am. I only have a couple. and that is why i am excited to "drop in on others lives" through blogging. Thank you for letting me do this, and thanking for calling me friend, you are so wlecoming and open to God's children!
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