They're everywhere...

After reading this great post by Musings of A Housewife, I was reminded of what happened to me and my mil last night. After a long day with kids and a hectic dinner time, I needed some brain dead time. What better place to go brain dead than the .99 Cent store. I love this place. My mil wanted an adventure too, so she came along. I was able to get my kids their Valentine Day goodies and some cute V-Day table decorations GUILT FREE because they were only 99 cents each. I checked out first. I noticed the cashier was yawning, so I asked her if she was ready to go home (DUH!!!!) and she said that she was and that she was also excited to have Valentine's Day off. I smiled and walked over to the greeting card's display while my mil paid for her items. Three minutes later I walked back to the check out line only to see my sweet mil holding the cashier's hand, discreetly praying with this young woman who had tears streaming down her face. They said goodbye and we walked to my car. My mil then told me that this woman told her that she was so tired because she had been up most of the night with her 4 year old son. After a few questions from my mil, the woman then said her son had "special needs" after having Meningitis, as a baby. It was a miracle that this child even made it through that illness. His name was Elijah because that was the mom's favorite prophet in the Bible. My mil then asked if she was a single mom. The cashier said that although her husband was still at home, that he was leaving them. The cashier went on to say that she didn't know what she was going to do because she has 7 children at home and only makes $6.00 an hour. On top of all of this, her youngest, Elijah, has many needs. That is when my mil reached her hand out and prayed for this woman. The woman told my mil that she needed that so badly, and thanked her over and over again. After hearing this story, on our way home, we prayed for that family again together. I was very touched at how my mil took just a little time to reach out to a hurting woman. Even though she was a complete stranger, this cashier desperately needed a gentle, reaffirming touch from another warm-blooded human being. How many hurting people do we cross paths with everyday? We have so many opportunities to extend Christ's love to the people around us, if we will just look up every now and then.