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You never know when you need to be ready to pray for someone.

September 8th, 2010

I was standing near the front doors one day and a woman and her mom walked in the front door exclaiming “what a beautiful store!” Of course that got my attention, and I began to speak with her. She went on for a few minutes about how impressed she was with the store and how proud she was to be a part of the Rock Church and the beautiful store. She then went on to share more about why she was there. She was looking for a place to donate a lot of her household goods because she was experiencing a major life change. My ‘radar’ went off when she said that, so I let it pass by in the conversation, knowing I would return to it later. We continued to talk and later I asked “if you don’t mind me asking, what did you mean when you said ‘major life change’?”  She paused, then replied, ”my husband is leaving our family and I may have to move out of state.” She said it as bravely and acceptingly as anyone could given her circumstance, her mom was standing nearby and smiled encouragingly. Little did I know, not long before they came in that day they were in the car together praying, the woman asking God out loud to give her a sign that He was there and that He loved her. I invited them both into our reflection area at the store for a more private conversation. We all sat together and talked for a while. I got a chance to share what I had had been taught about a loving marriage and I encouraged her the best way I knew how. God melted my heart that day for a situation I knew was painful and He had prepared me for through my life experiences. I introduced her to our assistant manager and we all prayed together that day. That experience changed me. As I found out later, it changed her too. She had asked God for a sign, and all I had to do was listen to His voice speaking to me to be there for her.

We are finding out, we get a chance to do this a lot here, if we’re ready to listen…