A week before Easter, I just had quite a long day at work. I did not have a horrible day but I was simply tired and ready to go home and relax for the weekend. While walking to get myself dinner I noticed a beautiful young lady. She looked like a junior high-school student and seemed quite young. Walking towards my direction with her shoulders drooping, I noticed that she was crying. Now I was really tired to and was really hungry and ready to get something to eat, to make things worse my feet were exhausted too. But something in my spirit told me not to ignore her. Seeing a young woman cry while walking or sitting at a park alone is something that happens quite a lot in Taiwan. If they're not crying alone, they’re either crying with a boyfriend or girlfriend or on the phone crying. Anyway I decided to stop her and I asked her gently if she was "ok"?? And of course she said she was but instead of letting her go and minding my own business, I just gently grabbed her and embraced her. While holding her in my arms she started sobbing and eventually pulled back. She couldn't say much, but I felt in my heart she had a lot of pressure and was stressed out. I asked her if her pressure was from studying and school. And she responded with a tearful yes. I felt in my heart to pray for her. As I prayed over her my deepest desire for her was for her to know how much God loves her and that her future was in God's hands and there was no need to be afraid. I believe what encouraged her the most, was that I reminded her to know that she had already done her best by studying hard and That God will honor her hard work, even though her parents seemed not to honor her.
After prayer she nodded and said thank you and we embraced once more. I feel at that time I was like being a loving mother to her.
I think one of the qualities God desires us to have is to be women who are not always intent on “minding our own business”. I feel we're being brought up in a society that walks with crutches of Fear or walks on egg-shells and these crutches keep us from noticing other people’s needs or even feeling a sense of compassion for others. Because some of us have been injured by rejection, we've relied on “fear crutches” and sometimes walk with a victim mentality instead of walking victoriously. Of course this requires discernment, but it's so easy to be focused on what you're doing or where you need to be, on how bad or long your day has been or even focus on how depressed you feel when you think about your past. But if we keep walking on these crutches and failing to stop and not “mind our business” we easily become cold and less compassionate and never grow in our relationship with God. See the enemy of our souls tries to become tactful by making sure that we are our own distraction or source of distraction.
In Mark 10:46-52, Jesus had a tight schedule and he had crowds following him all day, He had been minding his own business doing what He had come for on earth . He had been healing people all day and loving on them and ministering to His disciples. But the word says when a blind man named Bartimaeus was calling and everyone told him to "shut up" with such a busy schedule "Jesus stopped on his tracks" (the Message Bible) He stopped and noticed this man calling out his name and he healed him. Jesus as God could have easily just kept on walking and healed the blind man by simply saying a prayer in his heart and kept on walking to where he needed to be. But Our Lord knew that Bartinaeus needed more than just his eyesight but He needed to hear words of love from Jesus, to feel his embrace to be noticed by him to even hear Jesus ask him his name and remember it.
I feel that Jesus desires us to be women that notice, women that are willing to be side tracked for the sake of showing compassion and love to those who desperately need it. Maybe the person who needs to experience God's love through you is not a complete stranger, it could be taking out your mom or dad for a treat or calling them and letting them chat about their day. It could be that sibling you sometimes ignore, your co-worker, local waitress or janitor of your apartment building. I encourage you that as you walk into a journey of intimacy with Jesus and being a woman of worth you would have a heart to not mind your own business.
You’re loved and rejoice in your beauty.
Recommended reading
Her daughter's Hope (Francine Rivers)
Recommended Song
Come away with me (Jesus culture)
You're My Passion (Jesus culture)
