Prayers from A Stranger

"Please shut up! Please shut up!" I thought while holding a squirming screaming child in the middle of Chipotle. I can't believe I thought it was possible to order a burrito while holding onto my 14 month old mess of a child. Don't get me wrong. He is beautiful and precious but I think parents everywhere understand... it was just one of those days. Ordering a burrito was a fail, so I decided to sit down at a table and attempt to get milk out so the kid would pipe down. Desmond smacked the lid off and milk went all over my lap, the table, and gushed on the floor. Trying to hold onto my ridiculously strong son while cleaning up milk was nearly impossible. I looked around contemplating asking someone for help. Yet, my own pride made me think I could it handle it myself. I felt incredibly alone and prayed quietly in my head... God please help me! I just hit that point at the end of the day where I felt like I had nothing left to give.

Persevering through the mess, as I cleaned up the milk off the floor so my son wouldn't lick it up, (yes he has done that) I heard someone say...

"Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit with you? My name is Mara. I have been learning at this conference how to approach people and pray for them based on what I think God is telling me."

At this point most people might run but I was delighted for company! God heard my prayer!

"Yes, I would love for some prayer and actually I have been stressed out and could use some help!" I told her.

Mara explains, "Well, I see that you are a loving mother and I just feel drawn to you."

"That's great. Can you hold this sippy cup?" I asked while milk was dripping on my lap.

She must not have heard my request, because she continued to say, "My spirit is drawn to you. I have sensed this spirit of jealousy surrounding you. Someone is very jealous of you. Does anyone come to mind?"

" Ummmm no, not really. But can you hold this cup or pass me a napkin?" I asked.

Ignoring my request, Mara still focused on this jealousy thing asked, "Do you work? Is there someone who is jealous with your job?"

"Yes I work. I am a youth minister. But I don't think someone is jealous. I mean, there could be but I don't think so. I hated to burst her bubble, so I tried taking her in a different direction by adding,
"But hey if you really want to pray for me I have a ton of prayer needs right now."

When I started listing off my prayer needs she started praying against this spirit of jealousy. When she concluded with an amen all I could think was... "Wow, that was weird."

She still had more to say...

"I just felt so drawn to you because I can see you are a mother who has so much genuine love. God delights in your genuine love for others and everyone you meet."

I wanted to tell her, "That's nice. But I would genuinely love for you to help clean up this mess."

 The more she kept talking about my genuine love the harder it was not to laugh. Genuine love???!!!!! This woman had no idea that all I wanted to do was get my kid to shut up and just get a break for a little while. I am not feeling full of genuine love right now.

Instead I thanked her for her courage to reach out to me and to pray for me. Just when I thought it was over, she asked if she could hug me. So I responded...

"Sure!!! Why not? Honestly, I have had a really rough day and I could use a hug right now."

So we hugged. I figured because she was a stranger it would be short and sweet. However, in the middle of Chipotle, she embraced me and wasn't letting go any time soon. Still holding onto my squirmy toddler I couldn't help but think, "What if she is trying to rob me?" So I put my hands over my pocket and held tight to Desmond until the world's most awkward hug was finished. After checking my pockets and making sure everything was still in place, Mara went back to her table. Still struggling to pack and clean up, I left without ever getting a burrito so I could seek some refuge in the car.

Wow. That was so weird!!! Yet, I couldn't help but smile because even though I had no idea what Mara was talking about, at least I wasn't alone. She might be right on! Maybe someone is really jealous of me. But I don't see why that matters because to me that is their problem. If this is true, why would God tell a stranger to tell me about it?

This weird experience reminded me to pay attention to others needs before jumping in to help them with what I think they need. It says in James 2:16-17... "If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." 
Mara did step out in action by reaching out to me. However, I think if she helped me clean up the mess, and then asked how she could pray for me, perhaps this would have been ten times more powerful. I could be completely wrong. Maybe she did exactly as God led her to. I honestly don't know. 

Even though, Mara didn't really help me with my physical needs or listen to what I felt I needed prayer for, she had the courage to reach out to me. She reminded me that I am not alone, and God is present with me. I truly admire her for stepping out in faith. I wish I had more courage like her. I often do nothing because I am too afraid of saying the wrong thing. At the end of the day, it didn't matter that what she said didn't make sense to me. What mattered to me most was that someone sat with me and loved me in a moment when I felt alone and frustrated. Thank you Mara for being Christ to me in that moment. It may not have been perfect but it was love.