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| Valentine's Day 2000 by � moon_grace I will Share with you my day, because it has truly been a gift. I was listening to the Bible Broadcasting Network to a sermon about Corrie Tin Boom. She is someone I have always admired. She lost everything while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp. She spoke of how one should hold onto all things loosely except Christ and "There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." I scribbled these thoughts on paper nd pondered them, tried to fathom what they meant as I drove about my hectic day. Tonight, David came home and told me that a young couple with a baby had stopped him outside of work. This is their story. They were from out of state and had been in a car accident. There was no car seat in the car and the police had made them take an ambulance to the hospital to have the baby x-rayed and had given them a ticket for not having a car seat. Their car had been towed and was impounded for the evening. The girl began to cry. Their family would not arrive till the next morning to pick them up. They were on foot going to a hotel they had called from the hospital. Something told David they were genuine. He took them to the hotel and let them out. He warned them to stay away from another hotel they could see just across the highway. Yes, it was cheaper, but it was also a crack house. He sensed the girl had more to say. "We have 31 dollars and are still short on money for the room and I don't have any formula for this baby." She paused for a moment, shifted the baby's weight to her other hip and surveyed the surrounding area, "This place looks like a war zone and I'd rather you take us to a nice residential area where I can at least knock on some doors and maybe get somebody to help us." He gave them the 10 dollars he had with him. They went in and came back out with the receipt. Later, at home, he remembered what the girl had said about not having any formula. He called the hotel where he had let them out. They were not there. He knew they couldn't get far afoot, so he took a chance and called the other hotel. He had tracked them to a place where I would not wish to take my children or park my car. The realization came for a choice they had had to make. It was either a fair hotel or a bad hotel with money left over to buy formula for their son. We turned off the tv. We gathered Hunter and Forrest around us and told them we were going to go help out some strangers because that is what you have to do sometimes. We threw a few toys into a bag and went to the market where we purchased some sodas and diapers. We stopped on the way and picked up a box of chicken. When we got there, she looked out and saw the rest of the family in the car. I would not take my children beyond its locked doors. She wrapped up her son and came out to us. She said, "I am -----," and awkwardly shook my hand. She said, "I don't know how you found us but you people must be real Christians to help out strangers like us. I know you won't tell us who you are but I promise I'll pass this kindness along sometime." For Valentine's Day, I gave my husband a card and the freedom to follow his heart. For Valentine's Day, my husband gave me a card, a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a lesson in the things I had pondered earlier. I learned this. Today, it was a little bit of money that we would hold loosely in our hand no matter how tight things appeared. I also learned to beware of schedules and responsibilities that keep us from following our heart and......truly, "There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." Cold and dark are the hours now and I know that from where they are, it is past the moment of being able to safely venture out of doors. I pray. My friends, I pray. Susan. moon_grace. |
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