A Failed Test

After several evenings of door bell ringing, last night peace was restored. The little kid that wrote naughty words in the snow and did most of the ringing did not come to see me yesterday. Big surprise. It is pretty obvious his friend got to him with a big message. Mrs. De Vries is on to our shenanigans so we better stop the goofy stuff. It was nice to know that last night the kids weren't lurking around our family room windows as their footsteps in the snow revealed the night before.

Yesterday, I went to Merrillville to search for a white top to wear in the Larnelle Harris choir Saturday night. Once the search was successful, I visited Penneys for a new coffee pot and then went to Hobby Lobby. I had something significant in mind for our friends whose daughter just died of a heart attack. As I searched the millions of ornaments a lady came by and said, "Just buy them all, they would all make your tree look beautiful". We struck up a conversation and I told her what I was looking for seeking some wonderful idea from her. Wow...did I get fooled. I soon learned that she believed that we come back several times in our qwest to attain enough knowledge to "get into the pearly gates". She spent some time trying to teach me that it was the only thing that made sense so that is why she chose to believe those things because belief was the only thing that mattered.

I stood there making a few comments such as, "Well then, what is your absolute?" She admitted she had gotten this belief from an Indian holy book but she didn't believe in their Allah but believed in Jesus Christ. Oh my. I decided in the secret thoughts of my mind that this lady had made herself God. She had picked and chosen things from different religions and come up with her own. I shared that the Bible is my absolute and it doesn't have to make sense to me because God tells us that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. Because of this, I trust Him with all those things I can't understand. When our brief time of interaction came to a close, she said, "well, I hope to see you on the other side". I calmly said, "I know I will be there". Then I put my arm around her and said, "I would just love to sit down and talk with you sometime."

I felt as if I had failed the test. It brought to mind a lady I know that can turn one of those situations into a salvation on the spot. It seems God places her near people on a plane or in a doctor's office who are ready to bow the knee. Or is it that she has a special gift and knows where to go in those times. I could hear in my head Peter telling me to be ready to give account to what Christ has done for me. I really was trying. Oh Lord, reach down and through another of your servants, open the book of life to that woman.