Follow-Up

For those that follow my blog, I thought I should give you an update on something that happened today.  It will move you as it did me, and it served as a confirmation to me from the Lord that my message is timely.

Today is Derby Day. And living less than 45 miles from Churchill Downs serves as an instant camaraderie between residents of this area in Kentucky. My co-worker and I had donned our hats and were chatting away in the office when I decided to read my most recent blogs to her. At first I read the one on Grandmothers and then I read the one on Moms. I had totally forgotten that there was a woman hidden behind my computer screen.

When I finished reading the blog I had written entitled “Mama Mia”, I heard sniffling. I peeked around the corner to find this woman crying. “I lost my mother about seven years ago,” she said.

I was flustered. I was upset with myself for making this woman weep in the middle of the office. I turned to my co-worker to see her response. She was more flummoxed than I was. Usually when I find myself in situations such as these I get chatty and say things that are nonsensical. Not this time. This time I just looked at her and held my tongue. Her pain was raw and I couldn’t say anything.

It felt like eternity, but it was only about fifteen seconds later that she continued telling us that she and her mother were very close and it was a sudden death. She had younger siblings that were too young to have remembered their mother as she had. She was the oldest and missed their mother the most. I could not express true empathy – I had never experienced the death of a parents, and frankly, I never want to. There was something so sweet about this woman, though. Despite her tears there was something drawing me in, keeping quiet, and allowing her to grieve a little.

“Your kids are awful.” She finally broke the silence. She continued to speak with more energy now, more indignation, at the way my kids had been treating me. That one day they would regret treating me so poorly and she said she hoped it wouldn’t be on my death bed that they recognized their abominable behavior towards me.

Now I was in tears. This woman had overheard my heart being poured out in my blog and had taken it personally. She had identified with me from an angle I had not considered. We were kindred spirits, this woman and I.

She left the office, but not before I came from behind my desk and gave her a big hug. She held me like she was holding on for dear life. She sobbed in my ear, “Happy Mother’s Day.” I returned the sentiment and she left.

The Lord validated me and my ministry in those few moments. He assured me that my blog-writing is not in vain. He gave me the confidence that even though I might be having a rough day and my writing may not be as “good” as a professional’s, He is using my availability in order to reach others. What a sweet Lord I serve.