A
couple Tuesdays each month I drive to a Senior Center in Joliet, pack my front
seat with coolers filled with food, and drop off meals to the elderly in Joliet
through the program Meals on Wheels. Little by little I got to know the people I
was delivering meals to. And little by
little, one of them in particular started to feel like she was a blessing that
was Heaven sent. Her name is Judith.
On one
particular Tuesday a while ago, I had just ended a relationship and quit my
first adult job all in one week. I was scared,
unsure of everything, and feeling pretty down.
Trudging through the snow, I found my way to Judith’s side door and as
usual, within seconds of my knock she was right there. Her smile upon seeing me warmed my heart as
she spoke, “Oh, Heidi! It’s so good to see your smiling face, you are just so
young and beautiful.” I thanked her for
the kind words and she thanked me for the delivery. She wished me her usual ‘God bless’ and I
was on my way. I got back in my car and
found myself unexpectedly crying. At a
moment in time where I felt far from beautiful, Judith spoke the words that
touched my soul. She brought me great
joy and reminded me that no matter what is going on in my life, I can still be
beautiful to others, but especially to my Heavenly Father. In that moment, she mimicked God’s love,
showing me that no matter what may be going on in my life, God’s love for me
never fails. I know in my heart, God used her to put a smile back on my face.
More
recently, I was dropping off a meal to a new location in a not so great part of
town. The instructions read to call the
client or knock on the side door with the meal.
I first knocked on the side door…no answer. So I ran back to my car, grabbed my phone and
called the number. A lady answered and
told me to meet her at the side door. I
grabbed her meal, held my phone, and made sure to lock my car door since I knew
this was a rough area. Small chat
ensued, then I was back at my car placing my hand in my pocket for my keys…….I
bet you can guess what happened from here.
My keys were staring at me from the front seat with the doors locked,
windows up. Whoops.
It was
one of those moments when you are pure helpless and you have no one else to
blame but yourself. Luckily I still had
my phone and about an hour later a locksmith came and unlocked my car. I still had 4 meals to deliver and now they
were late. I felt horrible...super super
bad. These are older people who are set
on their specific delivery times. I just
messed that all up. I prayed in the car
that I would be shown mercy, and I should have known more than anyone, Judith
would be there to do just that. I
arrived at her door and she had the most concerned look on her face. I started apologizing and she interrupted me
telling me how she had called the senior services center knowing that today was
my day to deliver and she was worried about me.
I told her what happened and she told me to stop apologizing, that she
herself had locked her keys in the car with the engine running at one
time. She showed me immediate mercy,
love and fellowship. I was beyond relieved.
In that
moment, Judith was what I needed. I just
wanted someone to tell me, “I forgive you. Yes, you screwed up, you aren’t
perfect but you’d be crazy to think I’d hold this against you.” Without that mercy I would have still felt
agitated with myself and still would have been down on myself. But after a few kind words from Judith, all
the anxiety and fear was washed away.
She showed me a great example of God’s love that day by easily forgiving
my mistake, and also being concerned that the path I was meant to take was
altered. You see, God has a path planned
for each and every one of us to take. Sometimes along the way we get side tracked
by sin or our own imperfections slow us down or lead us somewhere we know we probably
shouldn’t be. But the great thing about
God is that like Judith, He is always right there standing at the door waiting
for our knock. "So I say to you, ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
(Luke 11:9). God’s love is waiting for
you in some very unexpected ways. All you
gotta do is open the door!
