ThinMint

BURNSVILLE, NC UPDATE: From our source living there: "I watched the national guard load up and clear out the distribution center right next door to us. Yeah, they came in Monday with their huge trucks and started clearing it all out. Not sure of all the details but they said they were told by FEMA to shut it down and move everything to an Amazon warehouse. All week we watched truck after truck taking water away. So much military presence all over the property too. It was eerie for lack of a better word."

Thank you for praying for me and for others, and for praying His peace and wisdom and strength to be poured upon those who seek Him. Because of Him, through Him, with Him, we will overcome and thrive!

-8- I suppose the time period we’ve entered will test our resolve and mettle like never before. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the LORD has been calling so many of us to stop, settle, and soothe with Him. I imagine the coming weeks are going to be tumultuous. Not all of the plot twists will be predictable, but we do know things will be aberrant and wearing. I am praying for you. I am praying for the ML’s in this world. I’m praying you have respite in the midst of worldly chaos and that you have restfulness spending time with the LORD. May you safely find your way under His wings. But, if you’re delayed, may you receive help from strangers when you find yourself thrown off course.

-7- Why am I sharing all this with you? Because I suspect you’re done, too. Maybe you’ve been hearing your Creator’s call to step back and be still and seek shelter with Him. Maybe we can support one another, lean on each other, pray for one another. Strangers online brought together by the hand of God. Goodness knows we face so many trials and temptations, and you know, just plain ridiculous encounters and sentiments. We ought to seek godly friendship and grace and empathy where it’s freely, lovingly given.

-6- When I was finally alone later, I wept. Her face, her frailty, her voice, her story will stay with me forever. I honestly don’t know if she’s in danger, but what she did was dangerous. I don’t know if I will see her again, but I’m going to try. I am still a little shook up from the encounter with ML (as she likes to be called). I’ve been uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn since this happened. Yet at the same time, I’m feeling completely done with the all ridiculous daily encounters –in real life and online. (And I don’t know to what degree I’m willing to let others know I’m done. Maybe it’s not necessary to say anything. Maybe there’s a point to sharing.) There are so many people hurting, so many in real danger, so many who feel alone and isolated and unheard and uncared for that I just don’t have the patience or desire to care about the petty and shallow things that don’t truly matter.

-5- Being the selfish sinner that I am, I freely admit that I briefly thought, “If only those who have been so awful towards me could know that I did something nice. If they had seen me, maybe they wouldn’t think so negatively about me. But they won’t know and no one saw…” I saw. The LORD! I wanted to crumble before Him. It would have been so easy to take a break from walking up the sharp incline and to be still before Him, thanking Him for keeping all of us safe. I wish I could have done more for this woman. Prayer is everything His spirit whispered. Instantly I am overcome with humility and awe because I realized He chose me to help her. I swallowed the heaviness as I approached my car because I can grieve later, right? My kids saw what happened. Would they understand the importance of providing aid? I was trembling by the time I opened the back to put away the umbrella. I took deep breaths to iron out the shallow breaths. I opened the door, climbed into the driver’s seat then put my head down on the steering wheel feeling drained. My 8 year-old complains, “We’re so late!” Before I could even muster the mental strength to chastise, her other siblings did it. They quietly explained to her the significance of this moment. Her attitude changed quickly and she promised to pray for the woman. I was proud of all of them.

-4- She was now on the backside, making her way to, then up the driveway, clinging to the metal fence. I walked along on the front side, pretending I didn’t hear her mumble, “You have to go now,” and, “I don’t want them to see you here,” and, “I’ll be fine.” After a few more parting questions and words, I turned to head back to my children. The bottom of my pants, my socks and my shoes were soaked and my t-shirt was damp. But, I was a way bigger mess on the inside since my heart was in shambles and my thoughts were tangled in my mind. I thought about if this had been my Mom… Then I thought, could I find myself, like this woman, without my children to take care of me? The idea stabbed my heart and my breath caught.

-3- We reached the closed gates and she said she didn’t have the code to open it. She wanted to walk around the metal fence that extended to the side of the driveway. The area filled with 8-15 inch drainage rocks. I paused to let her rest and asked her if she would let me tie her shoe. Her reply, as she muttered numerous times since I came upon her was, “No, I don’t need help. I need to do this on my own.” Ultimately, she could not and relented so I could bend down to tie it. The guy in the truck pulled into the driveway next door and told us he had to leave. We thanked him then I walked her across the rocks because she insisted and it would have been detrimental to argue. Before we got to the end of the fence pillar where she could turn to go inside the property, I asked her if I could pray for her. Out loud. She agreed. I prayed. When I said, “Amen,” she raised her downcast head, looking me square in the eyes for the first time. She told me, “That was beautiful.” This whole event did not feel beautiful, but I was glad it meant something to her.

-2- The truck driver returned and said her place was a quarter of a mile away. I took the umbrella from my son and sent him back to our car. Slowly, we began to walk, my left hand gripping her right, upper tiny arm firmly, but gently. My right hand held the umbrella over her. She was so petite, standing under five feet and she weighed significantly less than a hundred pounds. The driver made another U-turn and followed behind us to be a buffer as we walked in the middle of the southbound lane. She talked non-stop and shared much that I have no way to verify. She was shivering and her left white canvas shoe was untied, but I dared not stop on the decline. Her story, if true, is heartbreaking. With each step that took us closer to her property, I felt more and more helpless. But, I was grateful she had not twisted or broke anything and all I could do in between asking her questions to learn more was to cry out in my mind, “LORD!”

-1- I took the kids to a fall festival Saturday at one of our favorite churches. It had rained an hour earlier and was drizzling when we headed out. Wetness clung to the leaves, deepening the earth tunes and majestic hues. The air warred between cool and humid. The curvy, country roads were black and slick. I rounded the start of a sharp and narrow S turn and was startled to see a light colored lump moving in a small trench on the right side of the road. When we passed I realized it was an old woman. I stopped the car, told my oldest son to get out to help her then I parked the vehicle 50 feet ahead in someone’s driveway. I turned off the engine, told the other kids to stay put, grabbed an umbrella, and made my way back to them. She appeared to be in her 80s and she was soaked from the rain. Who knows how long she had been stuck in the little ditch. She didn’t want help –not even to get her off the ground. I talked soothingly to her, trying to convince her to let me help, to let me bring her back to her home in our car. A truck came around the other end of the blind S curve. I waved for the driver to slow down, but he stopped to ask if we needed help. The driver and I tried desperately tried to learn more about her. She finally told us her address and he went on ahead to find it. Meanwhile, I got her into a standing position and held her. My mind scrambled to figure out how to make her feel safe and get her away from this blind curve. It was just a matter of time before a car would come barreling around that curve and who knew if they would see us in time.

If you've never read Gone With the Wind, now might be the time. 😁 We start it next week in Gaining Ground and we'd love for you to join us. The schedule is paced at about 50 pages a week and it's fantastic writing — an intriguing story, complex characters that are human in their flaws and heroism, presumption and humility, scandals and sass. And...THERE WILL BE MEMES. Join us here: https://t.me/+dZHELr2JvL1jMGEx

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Challenge #7