restroom evangelism

So on my way home from a baby sitting job last night i stopped at a very well lit 24 hour gas station to fill up and get a red bull for the drive back, and when i got to the restroom (because everyone knows you should always try!) i met a lady. She was missing a few teeth and had dirty white tennis shoes on... i met her because she hadn't closed the door to her stall and i had to pass her to get to mine.

She then began to tell me about herself. She'd been in prison for a while and didn't even realize she forgot to shut the door until i said excuse me. She was tile layer... did walls, floors, and bathtubs, and she was amazing at what she did. She was the only woman on a work team of about 8 or so that was traveling from west texas to pensacola, FL (where she was from)and she needed a beer because she had "had enough of their sh*t". I talked back and forth with her for a while (mostly listening) thinking, "What do i say to this woman who has told me her whole life story while we are in this dirty bathroom?" So i did as a good southern lady would do and commented on her skills as something worth alot and how i knew road trips are rough especially if your the only female.

After I washed my hands and dried them and told her i had to get back on the road... She then did something that i was shocked by... She apologized for talking to me. I was taken aback but told her not to worry, she wasn't bothering me and i hoped the night got better for her.

As I got back into my nice freshly detailed Hyundai and drove off, I realized how much she needed love and how much she needed God and how ill prepared i was to give either of those to her in the 5 minutes we were together. I realized that those 5 minutes were all that i had and i will never have another chance to see her again... to give her the attention and love that she so desired.

I began to pray for her and after a few minutes God showed me a couple of other instances where i was in the right place at the right time.... or rather HE put me in the right place at the right time to hear people's stories... In wal-mart in anchorage or sitting on the sidewalk in New Orleans. I guess i have a face that screams "tell me your life story!!"... and its an AMAZING gift.

He then showed me that although I can get the stories easily... more like they fall in my lap... that when i get them i don't know what to do with them, I've trained myself so well in long term relationships that this amazing 5 minute opportunity didn't have a climax... it just stopped.

So now... 24 hours later i am asking myself... Why am I not prepared and now, how do i prepare myself? How do i show these people love in a way they have never felt before when i will never see them again?

This will be a long process and I've got a lot of learning to do ... but i can't wait to see the end result!

-Chelsea Lou!!