- Hebrews 13:2
Actually, I'm not sure if she was an angel or if really, Jesus just showed up to spend some time with me today. For real.
I had been planning this day for a little while. A morning to take our "Once Upon a Time" class (made up of our high school girls at church) up to Green Mountain for a hike around the lake and a time to worship the Lord while we ate, sang, laughed and prayed together.
For months now, we've been looking at the stories of women in the bible who had encounters with Jesus and how they were transformed. And each week we've labeled a rock with what we learned from that woman to build an alter of remembrance. So last night, rather late, I was putting the finishing touches on all the preparations for the morning -- making sure all of our 'alter rocks' were properly numbered and named and ready to be set on the path for the girls to find as we hiked around the lake -- getting all the food prepared and pretty dishes for it all to go in -- and fitting it all into bins and coolers for transport -- writing out instructions for Mackenzie and Jessica since they were to be my 'set-up' crew for the feast at the chapel. 11:00pm rolled around and I was done with all of that and ready for bed.
What hadn't I done? Well, I really hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to say to the girls in the morning and I was bothered by that -- isn't that really more important than all these preparations? I mean, that needed to get done, but was I neglecting the lesson in all of it?
But my body and my mind were too tired for any more at that point. I reasoned that I would have the whole time that I was walking around the lake by myself in the morning, putting all the rocks out to find, and I would just think it through then. Yeah, that's it, that'll work..hmmmm.....
I made my way up to the trail on Green Mountain early Sunday morning, praying on my drive up there that God would be very present in the day and that the words I wanted to say would come together. I pulled into the parking lot and noticed a woman getting out of her car about the same time - from the way she looked and was dressed, it seemed obvious that she was there for a morning workout. She was moving a bit faster than I was so she headed on down the trail. Meanwhile, I was pulling out two pretty heavy sacks of rocks and a big bunch of flowers. My plan was to walk the trail and leave a rock and a flower at strategic points for the girls to find.
***The picture you need to get in your mind here is of me, awkwardly lugging these bags of rocks while trying to hold a large bunch of flowers. I was very aware of the fact that my back and shoulders were going to hurt after this little adventure! But, I reasoned it was worth it and forged on.***
Then it happened...
I had started down the path and had put down one rock with it's flower... I came around a bend and saw the woman from the parking lot just up a ways standing and looking out over the lake. I was feeling a little self-conscious with all the stuff I was carrying, but I had to get on with my task.
She turned to look at me as I got closer, then smiled and asked what I was doing with my bags....
Yes, I guess I really do look kinda weird. ha. So I stammered around a bit about our Sunday School class and what we've been learning and what I was out there doing.
And then the unexpected...
She said, "Can I help you out? I'd be happy to carry your bags." Of course, my immediate reaction (don't we all do this?) was, "Oh, no... I couldn't ask you to do that... you're so nice, no, but thank you!" Well, she was persistent.
Her: "Really, I'd like to help."
Me: "Well, ok, if you're sure - here's a bag."
Her: "Oh, let me have both of them to balance myself out."
Me: "But I don't want you to have to carry them all - that's too much! And I don't want to keep you from what you were going to do."
Her: "Oh, this works great... I was going to do some meditation and then a warm-up walk, but this will work just perfect. And give me both bags, I need the exercise."
Me: "Well, ok, if you're sure."
Her: "I'm sure."
Wow... isn't it just like that with Jesus? He takes away our heavy load of burdens (rocks!) and leaves us to walk along beside Him holding beautiful flowers...
So we walked on and the next thing she said was... "I just LOVE this place... it's my favorite place on earth!"
***OK.... If you know me or have read any of my blog, you know that those very words could have come out of my mouth. And of course, I told her that I felt the very same way. :) It truly is the place where I go when I most need to feel the nearness of God.***
We walked on together from there. I found out her name is Susan. I shared more about our class and the girls and the women we have been studying. As we would place another rock and another flower, (laying down burdens and blessings?) she would ask me what this woman's story was about... I got to share a lot of stories and she listened and asked questions. She shared some of her thoughts with me on the heartaches that women faced in Jesus' day and that they still face today. I get the feeling she understood heartache of her own.
It was such a joy, though, to see her get more and more excited with each 'rock' and story. And for me, to have this opportunity to share these stories with her....well....it couldn't have been a more perfect answer to my earlier prayer that I would feel the presence of Jesus and be able to gather my thoughts for the morning! I have to admit, for a moment, when I first saw her on the path and she started talking to me, I saw her as a possible distraction to the time that *I* needed to focus my thoughts. Glad I didn't get stuck in THAT thought!
Then another wild moment:
She asked if it was all right to ask where I went to church. I told her Central Church of Christ and she said, "Oh, I know exactly where that is! --- Do you know Clyde Jones?" (OK, really, is there ANYONE that Clyde doesn't know or whose life he hasn't touched? wow...) I said, oh yes, I do know Clyde and mentioned that along with knowing him from church, he had been a professor for Jack at UAH. That's where SHE said she had met him! :) Small world.....
Having made that connection, we continued on and talked more about Jesus and the Samaritan woman and Jesus and the adulterous woman.... she loved the stories. We came around another bend and a man was walking towards us with his dog. She knew him - they work together. I believe his name was Tom. She stopped and said hi, pet the dog... and then introduced me. She said, "Tom, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Kay." I think I might have looked at her like... what?" But she smiled at me and I smiled back and shook Tom's hand like this was all perfectly normal. It FELT rather surreal. I don't think I can adequately convey what hearing that felt like... here is a woman that I just met maybe 20 minutes ago, we barely know each other, but in the most sincere and honest way, she called me her friend.
And isn't that just like Jesus, who wants to know us and call us His friend? So cool...
We walked on... When we reached the chapel, I told her that my daughter Mackenzie and her friend Jessica were going to set up a meal and communion to be there for us when we arrived. I also told here that this is where we would use our rocks to build an alter of remembrance.
***It's funny. The one thing that I ended up not getting to do because of running into Susan, was that I didn't have time to find one last rock from our last week of class. I had 12 rocks and that would have been number 13. I was joking a few days earlier with Lisa that perhaps we shouldn't have a 13th rock - seems kind-of a shame to mess up the 'biblical number' of 12 and maybe just a little bit superstitioulsy unlucky. ha. But still, I had intended to find a rock for that last woman, the mother of James and John. Well, that didn't happen...***
But back to my walk with Susan. After passing the chapel, we made it back to the beginning of the trail... time to go our separate ways. She said that she had enjoyed hearing the stories of women in the bible and their encounters with Jesus and the way that it changed them. The she asked me if I knew of any stories in the bible where a woman had influenced another woman like that... I told her my favorite story and the one that first came to mind was about Ruth. And I reminded her that Ruth was a part of Jesus' geneology and was on one of our 'rocks.' :) I told her it was an amazing story of love, loyalty, and faith. She said that she would have to go and read it. :)
So I was about to head off to my car and she was off for her run, now that she was 'warmed up' - ha - and she said, "Can I give you a hug?" And you know, I'm pretty affectionate by nature, but I don't really make a habit of hugging strangers. But she wasn't a stranger any more. She had become my friend. So we exchanged a hug and off we went.
And I got in my car with a heart full of thankfulness and overflowing with praise for the God who knows every one of my needs and just how to meet them!
Later, after we had brought the girls up to the mountain, taken our hike, and arrived at the chapel, Mackenzie pulled me aside for a moment. I had left a bunch of flowers sitting on the stone wall that I had left over from the walk. She pointed to a rock sitting next to them. Then she told me that Susan had come by as they were setting up and had offered to help them carry stuff from the car - just as she had offered to help me. They were almost done, so they thanked her and didn't really need her help at that point... but a little while later, she came back as they were setting the table. She said, "Do you two know Kay?" Mackenzie said, "Yes, I'm her daughter!" And the Susan gave her the rock and told her that I would understand why she was leaving it there. Susan said to tell me, "This rock is for all the unnamed women in Jesus' day and all the way up to today who need to be remembered."
To say that I was floored is a gross understatement. And sitting here reliving it for a moment, I'm just undone by that statement and by her immense understanding of what I so hope all these girls that we've been teaching these last months will get.
ALL of us need to be touched and transformed by Jesus.
ALL of our stories are so important!
ALL of us need a moment to realize that we are loved and valued and irreplaceable in the sight of God.
That's what this morning did for me. That's what Susan did for me today. The angel on my path. Or maybe it really was Jesus... whatever the case, I hope we meet again some day.
Oh... and did I tell you? The rock Susan gave us - that became the 13th rock for our alter that I hadn't had a chance to get that morning? As I placed it on top of the alter, Lisa said, "MERCY" -- yeah, that was supposed to be the lesson from that rock. How fitting. :)
