After a quick, Nehemiah style prayer for help and God's grace for my STRONG-willed toddler (emphasis on purpose), I dashed across the parking lot, through the front doors and plopped her into a shopping cart. You know the story...not five minutes into my expedition, Maddie began exercising her vocal chords while arching backwards angrily in the cart with such strange contortions, I thought "gymnastics might be in her future". Then I noticed it...
I could pretty much tell who were or had been mothers versus those who probably had not. Not 100%, but up there. One woman leaned across the aisle with a piece of Bubble Yum saying "Can she have this? It might help!" "No, but thank you. She's not two yet and she'd swallow it." Madigan saw an attempted transaction of a treat denied, so when the woman's hand withdrew, her decibel level increased. "Ohhhh, I wish you'd try it!" the woman said as she shoved the gum back in her purse and u-turned in the opposite direction. The next passerby gave such a disapproving scan, I almost blurted out, "If you just ignore her for a few more minutes, she'll stop!" Having way too much experience with child abuse cases, I didn't feel like risking being arrested if I used the spoon on my daughter's hand in public. Yes...I thought of going to the bathroom with her...after I got home.
But when I finally got to the shortest of two very long checkout lanes, I looked down at a pair of gorgeous, chestnut brown eyes blinking at me from a 3 year old girl. Her mother looked up and said "You know, mine just had an explosion on the other side of the store, so don't feel bad." I guess it was all over my face. The lady behind me chimed in with condolences and a sweet, Mother Goose figured lady in the next aisle nodded knowingly behind a tender smile. Ahhhhhh...my soul breathed a sigh of relief as I found myself encompassed by a crowd of "been there, done that" moms. An attendant quickly opened a new checkout lane and everyone hand-motioned me through first.
I was thinking, it should be just as easy to identify those who are the Christians in this world than those who are mothers in a store. Jesus said that the entire world will be able to identify us by our love. John 13:34, 35-"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." The love we have for one another and a passionate love for our God. It should be easy in a world filled with the kind of people described in 2 Timothy 3-selfish, proud, pleasure lovers rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power.
Wouldn't it be great then, when you find yourself in the midst of a trial or circumstance that has you stretched beyond your limits, you look up and find yourself surrounded by other Christians with tender smiles, encouraging words, and reassuring glances with willingness to help? Your eyes see other eyes that let you know they've "been there, done that" and can't wait to offer you the same comfort? I wanna be like that.
Don't think I'm gonna shop anytime soon though.
