Got on the elevator not to long ago. Another lady was in there and I kind of half smiled at her. She didn’t return the smile and I found myself wondering what was up with that so I just kept my head bent down. I kept hearing noises coming from her direction so I glanced up. Lips tightly closed, eyes staring off, hand shaking….she was holding in sobs. So I asked a stupid question. I asked if she was okay. She waved her hand in my direction, opened her mouth to say something and closed it. I reached out to her shoulder and WANTED to say to her that I would pray for her but I held back. I hate it that I held back. She said ‘my mom is hurt’. Right then the bell dinged in the elevator and she rushed to stand in front of the door. I said to her to be careful. She didn’t turn around but when she got to the outside doors and she opened it, she turned to me and our eyes met and I thought to myself, SAY IT and once again…I didn’t. I waved her on instead to not hold the door or to wait for me.
I prayed for her as I was walking to my car but I hate it that I did not say it too her.
*
I forgot! My guilty pleasure of season something or other of The Biggest Loser started last week! So get ready for my tear filled summaries of what happend the night before, LOL
5 comments:
We do that sometimes, don't we? We want to reach out with our words and hold ourselves back. Listen to your instinct though -- you thought about it twice and twice you didn't. You smiled, you connected. You reached out to touch her and made even more contact...tangible contact. And it was enough. The fact that this woman looked back at you and connected with your eyes -- that says to me that she understood and she knew that you cared and that you were going to pray for her.
And you have and you will. And so will we.
Sometimes we communicate what we mean without words Jakki. Just as you did. ♥
Thank you! I guess, in most cases like this, I dont worry to much about being politically correct, but in this instance, my mind was racing with the thoughts of if I would offend her and I just...didnt say it.
But...if that is the case, if she did not have a belief in God or a belief in praying, she still had prayers going up for her, LOL
Don't worry about not saying anything. Perhaps it would not have resonated, you never know. The thing that mattered is that you did pray or her, whether she knows it or not:)
I've come back to this post because it's been on my mind. You are saying you didn't know if the woman believed or not or would be offended and isn't it sad that we are even able to say that or think it -- no matter what our personal belief system is -- God, Allah, Buddha, the man in the moon for that matter...there is no reason for anyone to take offense at our blessings or good wishes and yet we are so conscious of that now. That makes me so sad as I'm sure it does you.
I do believe that we tend to be polictically correct to the point of wiping some of the very backbone of has made our society. Of course I STILL prayed for her and her mother for whatever grace or strength God deemed necessary but there still is that niggling thought of 'you will deny me thrice' in the back of my heart.
Post a Comment