It was Thanksgiving morning – I was up fairly early to stuff the turkey and put it in the oven. Then I came back to bed to read, drink some tea and then decided to check Facebook. Later, I was writing my blog about how very thankful I was that my career is getting back on track after a couple of very difficult years.
I was in my PJ’s and really focused on writing so when I heard the doorbell I asked my daughter to answer. I was only half listening to the conversation but what I did hear was that a lady was looking for her sister “Linda” didn’t know her last name or her address. My daughter said she seemed very confused and lost. The lady apologized for having the wrong house and left.
I started thinking about the woman and why she had come to our house. So I threw on some clothes and went to look for her. She had walked to the end of our block and was turning back toward our house. At first I thought maybe she was homeless, but she was very clean and had on several layers of brand new clothes, although it wasn’t that cold out. She had an expensive looking backpack and rolling duffle. So I approached her and invited her to come to my house for a cup of coffee. I offered to make her breakfast and told her I would make some phone calls to help her find her sister. She told me her name was Gail. As we got closer to my house she said that she couldn’t come in because she didn’t want to miss her bus. I asked her where she was going but she was very vague. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. She did show me her bus pass and some cash in her pocket. I offered to drive her where she needed to go but again she refused. She didn’t know where the bus stop was so I walked her to the corner and waited for about 2 minutes until the next bus came. She thanked me and told me I was kind. But I didn’t feel like I had done anything.
Throughout the day I thought about Gail, and each time I sent up a prayer that she would find where she belongs. There were no news stories about missing women so I assumed that the bus drivers helped her find her way. I also know that my prayers were heard.
So here it is, “Black Friday” other people are in a shopping frenzy and I am still counting my blessings. One of them being that I am not out spending money I don’t have on things I don’t need. I love the way God used a perfect stranger to remind me that the purpose of my life is not to earn a living (although that is important) but that my true purpose is to serve Him in any way that I am called. Now that is something to be thankful for!
What would you do if a stranger knocked on your door? I would love to hear your comments.