The other evening, we needed to get to Greenville Pharmacy to pick up a prescription before the pharmacy closed. Usually we take a walk after supper and read a book together before doing anything else, but that day, we left our house right after supper to make the pick up and then go to Walmart. Apparently, judging by the number of people we saw that we knew, it’s a popular time to go to Walmart!
First, we ran into a friend that we rarely see except in church. It was so nice to visit a bit. She told us she was going on vacation and wouldn’t be in church on Sunday. We went down the next aisle and saw a gentleman that we sometimes see when we take our evening walk because his house is on our route. We said hello (and as often happens, Donn asked me, “Who was that?”). The next aisle we entered, there was the friend from church we’d just seen! We agreed that if we’d been trying to find her, we probably wouldn’t have been able to!
Then I almost passed a woman before realizing that I knew her. I stopped and said with a smile, “I know you!” Actually, “knowing her” didn’t include knowing her name. I recognized her enough to know she was from Sandy Lake and thought she was someone who had come to some of my book events. We chatted for a few minutes as I waited for my brain to kick in. Then the woman said, “Tell Angi I said hello.”
Oh no, now I was caught! So I said, “Could you refresh me on your name?”
She said, “Mrs. Reynolds, Sherry Reynolds.”
Angi and Robb’s 12th grade English teacher, not the woman I’d thought, although they did resemble each other. Now granted, they graduated in 1991, but I have spoken with her a time or two since then. But she knew who I was and called Donn by name.
“I knew Angi and Robb very well,” Sherry said. “Robb was a character!”
I agreed and asked, as I always do if someone mentions him that I haven’t seen for a long while, “You knew he passed away?” She did.
In the next aisle, we saw a man in an electronic cart balancing a couple of bottles in his hand. I asked if we could help him, but he assured us his son could help. But then, as though someone had flipped a switch, he started telling me all that he’d been through. He said he was 38 but I thought he looked much older. “I’ve had three heart attacks. I died and they brought me back. I’m waiting for a new heart.”
I pulled a small tablet from my purse and said, “If you’ll give me your name, we’ll put it in a bowl that we keep beside our bed so we remember to pray for you.”
He told me his name was Tom, then said, “I gave my heart to Jesus, but I did a lot of dumb stuff when I was young. I have congestive heart failure.”
“So even though we give our hearts to Jesus, there are still consequences for the things we’ve done. Could I pray for you now?” I asked and he agreed.
As soon as I finished praying, he asked our names and began to pray aloud for us. I was really moved because I’ve prayed for plenty of people in Walmart but none of them have ever prayed for me. Please pray for Tom.
We went on then to finish our shopping and headed for the check outs. We had bought quite a few things, so we didn’t go through self check out as we usually did. There were only two clerks working the regular check outs right across from each other, and Donn was heading for the one on the left. Some other people got ahead of us so we went to the other clerk. There were two people being waited on at that checkout, and as we neared them, Donn said, “There’s Natalie!”
Sure enough, standing with her grandmother, whom we’d never met, was one of the girls from our neighborhood with whom we’ve been involved for about six years. Her dad was recently killed in a tragic accident, so I was glad for another opportunity to interact with her. (We had seen her at the funeral and she’d come to the house a couple of times since.) We hugged and she said to her grandma, “This is Daisy.”
Then I teasingly asked her, “Are you trying to sneak things into Grandma’s cart?”
Her grandma smiled and said, “No, she’s not. She’s a good shopper and good at trying to save money.”
Since her grandmother is living with Natalie at her house, I was glad to see them getting along well. We chatted for a few more minutes, then they went on their way.
We paid for our groceries, went home, and left for our walk. Soon we passed an older couple on electric scooters. I recognized them as folks who had stopped in front of our house once when Natalie was visiting on our porch. We waved and they went on their way, but in a few minutes, they came back.
The man said, “Are you Daisy?”
I was startled because I didn’t think they knew my name, but I said, “Yes, why?”
He said, “We were wondering if you have any idea how Natalie is doing?”
They knew what had happened to Natalie’s dad and hadn’t seen her since. They told us they live near Rite Aid (now Giant Eagle) and Natalie used to stop by to visit them on their porch, but she hadn’t done that since her dad died.
I told them we’d just seen Natalie with her grandma at Walmart, and they seemed to be getting along well. I said, “Natalie’s only been at our house a few times since the accident. I think it’s really hard for her to see people, especially for the first time since the tragedy.”
The man said, “Well, tell her Tom and Peggy said hello, and tell her the porch is still open.”
When we got home, I texted Natalie to tell her what Tom had said, and she thanked me. Someone told me that through the years, Natalie has made friends all over the neighborhood and everyone is so concerned about her. Please pray for Natalie that the Holy Spirit would comfort her in her mourning. Not too long ago, she told me she had been baptized.
At bedtime, as I thought about our evening, I told Donn, “I’m so amazed at all the people we met at Walmart, especially the man in the electric cart, and then getting home at just the right time to meet Tom and Peggy. None of that would have happened if we had stuck to our normal routine! I had no doubt that our steps had been ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23)
Father, we are so grateful for all the blessings we receive and are able to pass on to others when you order our steps. Help us to be in tune with your Spirit every moment of every day. Amen