WAYNESVILLE SURPRISE

Some time ago, our children came home for Christmas and we decided to visit the small nearby town of Waynesville to enjoy the holiday spirit and some family togetherness. We strolled from store to store enjoying our time together and capturing the moments on our camcorder.

At one store my attention turned to a storekeeper who seemed to be having a hard day. People were waiting at the counter and she was on the phone. Ending our browsing, we wandered on out and the kids decided to walk down to McDonalds for a snack. We followed and took in a few more shops along the way before meeting them. I pulled out my trusty camcorder to catch the moment when I discovered that the red on/off button was missing. My wife and I were now on a mission to look for that button. We started retracing our steps which finally took us to the last place where we had used the camera. My wife waited out front while I went in to see if I might have fallen off in the cluttered store.

The crowds had thinned out and upon walking in, I recognized the shopkeeper as the distraught lady I had noticed earlier. Her eyes were red and it was evident she had been crying. I asked what was wrong and she said that her sister had called and told her that her mother had died. I asked if her mother was a Christian. She said, yes, she was a devout Christian, very active in her church and she was always very loving to everyone. I reached out and took her hand. She said she wished she could have been there.

I told her that I understood. My mother had passed away a few weeks earlier. I had received a call from my sister saying that Mom wasn’t doing well and had been taken to a nursing home a few days ago. My sister said that I should come home as soon as I could. Seven hours later, when I arrived at the nursing home, they were already cleaning her room. She was now at the funeral home. When I went there, my older sister said that she wished I could have seen mom’s face. Her face was very peaceful and her eyes were wide open and very bright. She said Christ had come to take her to heaven. My younger sister said she had been to see mom the night before, when mom looked up she said, “Who is that man behind you?” My sister said no one was there but thought an angel was there watching over mom.

I told the lady in the shop that her Mom and mine were very similar. My sisters and I were grieving, as were her sisters and she, but we knew that our Moms were in heaven. We hugged and we both cried.

When I walked out the door, my older daughter had joined my wife. I told them what had happened inside when I was looking for the red button. No, I hadn’t found the button, but I had an incredible encounter with the shopkeeper and God!

My daughter looked down at the sidewalk. “Wait, isn’t that the button down there?” She reached down and retrieved the red button from the crack in the pavement. She handed it to me and I snapped it in place.

The retrieval of that red button, my sisters encounters with mom and this ladies need for someone to share her grief, reinforced my belief that Christ is with us is in our everyday lives.

Think about the times God has used you to console someone or when He has sent someone to console you when you were in need. Share your experiences with others. You can give hope to those who may question if heaven is real and those that question if God is present in our lives today.