| so life has kept me busy as of late (who could not say that?). i just want to highlight a few stories that have happened along the way... *a woman came in to my work at nordstrom. she was spastically sorting through all of our clothing options, so i offered to help her. she had a sort of nervous energy to her and i would have to if my son had gotten tickets for THE GRAMMYS for christmas. turns out he works for universal studios and passed along the hook up to his mamma. how cool! so i got to dress a woman for the awards (if they even happen) you will see some striking woman in the crowd...you will know i dressed her! :) *an elderly woman elaine came in to shop. she informed me she was headed to hawaii on vacation so she took me by the hand and walked me around. just by simple conversation, she ended up opening up to me about how the philipino population in her church invited her to one of their dance/dinner ceremonies (one of the only white folk they invited aparently). somehow (this was only the first 5 min of conversation) she ended up demonstrating the dances they do right before my very eyes in the isles of nordstrom. i love that i can take people to this place of open-ness in conversation...it's great. soon enough we were laughing and chatting...and it was time for my break. so she joined me on my break. i bought her a cup of coffee and as we sat and shared our lives i realized (again) that the lord loves me so very much. she really was sent to me in my life for that moment. she ministered to me out of the scripture without really knowing a thing about me...she said, 'i can see in your eyes that you love the lord. remember to love him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. and to love your neighbour as yourself.' she held my hands from across the table and did the whole, 'you have a destiny, and it's up to you to fulfill those things god put in your heart in your lifetime.' woah. she imparted wisdom about the relationships in my life. as she gave out of the experiences of her own life, i cried knowing that i am so loved by the lord. she was a 'gramma' figure...and if there is a person i miss and long for in my life it's my gramma. we talked just the way that me and my own gramma would have. elaine shared with me that she just recently got engaged (she's 88 and her husband died a few years back). it was funny and beautiful to hear her speak of her new love. she told me that her husband was more than she could have asked for in life, but her new fiance...she told me she had never known love like that before, she didn't know it was possible. she told me about how she's an english tutor for chinese people who need help and a volunteer for senior citizens (she spoke of them as if the term did not apply to her!)...anyway...the point is, i was so blown away by her availibility and openess to give me what life gave to her... i am attending school at harper this semester because...well, don't feel like explaining the story here, but whatev...anyway, i was there to register for my classes and i turned a corner and this girl my age was also confused where to go, so i shared my map with her...and we made our way. we were just casually chatting but sometimes you just know more is supposed to happen, ya know? but we arrived at the proper line and went on our way. i had to go somewhere else i discovered...so i ended up running into her again. found out she lives in cicero (takes a bus every freakin' day to harper!) and we ended up talking about (i forgot to mention she's african american) the social injustices stacked against black people in our nation that still exists today...she commutes b/c the education is better out here. her mom always transfered her to white schools so she could 'rise above' as she put it. there are so many things i could share about our conversation...but the bottom line is that we connected as believers standing together on behalf of our futures personally and for the future of race relations in our nation and for the future of the kids we will have someday. it was so intense...we were both crying and hugging...i was so moved by her integrity to reject resentment and embrace hope for a better tomorrow. then! at nordstrom...there was a mom and daughter (prob 30) who was with her kids and they were taking about the clothes they wanted in a language that sounded really framiliar. so i tuned in a little bit more and they were speaking arabic...i ended up taking care of them and putting them in a fitting room...the daughter put a few items on hold and came back for them later. so i decided it would be okay if i asked her what language she was speaking (playing dumb) ends up her father is from bethlehem and her mother is from jordan...and they were believers! she encouraged me to keep praying for the believers in israel and palestine as (arabs in bethlehem) were deminishing all the time because of persecution. i told her i would. :) as if i already don't. it was such an encouragement because sometimes you ask god if the things if he put in your heart are going to happen sometimes they seem too lofty...and that was a reminder: yes...they will if you take them on, and i will. if you have made it through all the rest of this post, you deserve to know. so, one more story...the best one...i had chosen not to write on here about the guys in my life...but this one is worth mentioning...his name is Adam. i am happy for every moment we have. |
