In the Aroma of Freshly Baked Cookies

The last thing she said to me before she walked away from the table where we had been sitting was, “God sent you here today ... and you waited until I showed up ...?”

“Yes, He did.”

Her eyes were weary, but it finally struck her how much God loved her. He sent me specifically to talk to her. I didn’t know who I was to meet nor did I know how long I would have to wait until they arrived. All I knew was that He sent me and would reveal His plans in due time.

She walked away a different person, thanks to His love. I marveled at His faithfulness.

As I awoke that last Friday I had off before school started again, I knew I was to go to the mall to witness about Jesus Christ that day. I had a million errands to run, but would spend time sitting in the common area by the Mrs. Fields kiosk in the aroma of freshly baked cookies at some point.

I went about my business, running between locations, checking off the to-do list as I went. I relaxed for lunch and found myself right next to the mall, but still had two other stops to go. I pondered whether to go right then, but decided to go ahead and get those last two items taken care of. That way, I could go sit at the mall for the rest of the afternoon if the Lord so desired.

It was about 2:15 pm when I arrived at the spot where I had last visited with an elderly gentleman, but all the sofas and relaxing chairs were all taken. It truly was the best location in which to converse with complete strangers due to the close proximity to others who were sitting there. But, the only empty chairs were at 3 small round tables across the carpeted area and they sat far from each other. It wasn’t the best arrangement to visit with someone at the next table because they were so far apart. But, given the empty chairs, I went ahead and took a seat, scoping out the people sitting there, looking for who it was that the Lord sent me to see. No one got up and left which would allow me an opportunity to move. Nope. I had to sit right there.

A gentleman came and sat at the little table to my right. But again, the table was so far away from me, I would have had to raise my voice for him to hear me. I asked the Lord, is this him? I waited.

And waited some more. No direction came. The man left, leaving the table empty.

After about 20 minutes, I just thought, “Lord, you are just going to have to send the person directly to me. I’m going to wait, however long that is, for You to send them to me.”

It wasn’t but a few minutes before she approached me, handing me a card to receive a free gift from the Clinique counter in Dillard’s where she worked. She had unloaded her large bag and lunch box on the table next to me and directly walked over to me sitting alone so she could get her name put in a drawing if I took the card to the counter and turned it in.

I immediately asked her about her salvation. She said, “oh yes, I’m a Christian. But could you pray for me? Satan is after me.”

We chatted just a moment until she decided to grab her bag and join me at the table. She was on her lunch break so she pulled out her lunch box and opened it. She began her story.

She was in a state of depression that had engulfed her some 4 years earlier. It had destroyed her marriage, her job, her life. She didn’t want to get up out of bed anymore. She was in the land of “I don’t care.” I knew what that was like. I had been there before.

I asked her, “Have you contemplated suicide?”

“Yes...” as her voice trailed off.

“Have you gone so far as to make a plan yet?” I asked.

“No, not really.” I wondered if that was the truth.

I shared with her a tidbit of my own story of suffering through depression when I was ill, but that the Lord had healed me outright. I shared how He so desired to heal and wrote out as many healing scripture references as I could fit on the back of an envelope that she had. She promised to look them all up and study them, confirming that her faith came from the scriptures.

We spoke at length about Satan’s unending desire to destroy the Christian – not only them but all those around them. She had been the makeup counter manager at Foley’s but lost that job. She was a petite lady who had obviously been a beautiful woman at some point. She still fixed her hair and makeup but she was almost emaciated due to lack of an interest in even eating. She only picked at her food with her scrawny fingers. I encouraged her to eat, but in that 30 minute lunch break, she only took 4 or 5 bites.

She turned to me and asked, “Your husband stood by you during your illness?”

“Yes, he did”. She explained that her husband had left her. I tried to convey how difficult it was for the men in our lives to walk through illness with their mates. They are the strong ones – the ones who lead, the ones who “fix” things, the ones who solve problems. And, my husband couldn’t help me sleep any more than her husband could cure her depression. They are helpless, just like we are. She understood. She still loved him so much. I silently prayed they would be reunited.

She looked up at the clock in the lobby and noted the time. Her lunch break was about over. She wanted me to pray for her, raising her hands to the Lord. We prayed for her healing and she arose to leave.

Before she left, she bent down to me sitting at the table, and said “God sent you here today ... and you waited for me ...?”

“Yes, He did. Do you see how much He loves you? He sent me here to wait until He sent you directly to me. I waited for about 30 minutes until you arrived. He wanted you to realize that He knows what you are suffering through and that He is here. You are not alone ...”

She promised to study the scriptures and she walked away in the hope of His healing power.

It struck me later that despite all that discussion that we had, it was the simple fact that He loved her enough to send someone to encourage her that impacted her the most. It was His love, in action. And, that was priceless. All glory to the King!

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