It was a rough day. I had a million things to do in two short hours and THAT was the day my boys chose to go absolutely wild. At one point, smack dab in the middle of Walmart, I looked over to see crazy people pulling everything off the shelves. I assure you I am intentionally trying to raise sensible children, but at that particular moment in time my children looked more like wild orangutans that had just been released from the zoo.
And in God’s perfect timing – like only He could do – that was the moment an elderly lady came up to me and said, “They are so sweet. Enjoy every moment.”
My mind instantly starting forming a sarcastic rebuttal, but she reached out to touch my arm and it distracted me. “My little boy used to drive me crazy once too. But now my little boy is a big boy and at 45 has been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. No parent wants to bury their child.”
Insert water works.
She cried.
I cried.
I asked her if I could pray for her.
She said yes.
I asked her if I could pray for Wes.
She said please do.
And just like that a messy Walmart suddenly didn’t seem to matter.
The cool part?
When my boys saw me crying with and hugging a stranger, they both stopped destroying Walmart and came over to sit by my feet. When the lady left, I sat down on the floor of Walmart and had the most beautiful opportunity to talk to my boys about prayer and living a life obedient to His Spirit.
That’s the amazing thing about being a Christian.
When you read passages of scripture like Romans 8:5: ”Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”… you just never know when, where or what that might look like. But if we surrender our hearts and allow our lives to be led by His Spirit, the coolest things can happen in the most unlikely of places – which sometimes can mean in all it’s orangutan glory, smack dab in the middle of Walmart.
