Today was an interesting day. This morning I got the kids up and out the door for school and headed to the shower so that I could be ready to watch Bryson and Eli. I watch them twice a week while their momma, Sarah, teaches college. Sarah called me though, to tell me that Eli didn’t seem himself at all and that she was gonna take him to the doctor and would I go with her to keep Bryson occupied while she waited to be seen. She picked me up and we arrived at the pediatrician’s office at 9:00 am. Around 10:30 Sarah suggested that I take Bryson to the mall to see the “spinny thing”, otherwise known as the carousel. I thought it was a great idea because I had gotten a $25.00 gift certificate to Lane Bryant, that was about to expire and I wanted to use it.
Nothing like taking a toddler shopping, however you don’t know my Bryson…he’s an amazing shopping partner. The worst thing you have to deal with is his constant, verbal, onslaught of questions! Why is the spinny thing not working? Does the spinny thing need new batteries? Why do you have a pink shirt? Are you going to get the red shirt? Is that your blue sweater? You get the picture; he has an amazing desire for knowledge, even if you don’t think it’s important.
When we got into Lane Bryant I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly hot it was inside the store. Now usually it is incredibly cool in that store. (Probably because the women who shop there are…umm…well…voluptuous. We are some amazingly beautiful people but we are hot natured!) So I am ready to come out of my sweater and I tell the girl at the register that it is really uncomfortably hot. She assures me that they have the air on but it hasn’t been able to catch up and cool off the store yet.
I head to the dressing room, Bryson in his stroller, and try on a couple of shirts. This of course, makes me hotter but I am going to be finished at the register soon and out of there. While at the register Bryson starts to squirm and pinch his “manhood” which we all know is a tell-tale sign of a need for a bathroom. So I cheer him on with “keep your pants dry”, ”it won’t be long”, “almost done buddy”. Next thing I know the employee, who I know has heard me talking to Bryson about the potty, says to me “I need a minute”. Now I am thinking, Girl where the heck are you going, can’t you see I have a toddler who needs to pee? I encourage Bryson to hang on and next thing I know I hear a bang near the door and watch her collapse and slam her head on the floor. I am in shock, run over to her shouting “are you ok”, and she is out cold, non-responsive. There are no other people in the store, no other employees and I have no phone signal in the store. There is not even a phone that I can use in the store. (So much for calling 911 when you need to.) She is laying across the doorway to the back room and I can’t even tell you how in shock I am. I start knocking on the back room door and I slam it open and start yelling to see if anyone is there and that I need help. Finally 2 other employees come to the door to find her laying there. I explain what has happened and then tell them I have a toddler who needs to pee. I then proceed to step over the girl with Bryson in hand to rush to the potty. I get back and she is still out cold. She was unconscience for at least 10 minutes and while she was out I find out that she is 5 months pregnant and that she has had a previous problem pregnancy. She finally came around and of course starts to cry. My heart broke for her, she was scared, laying in the floor and her head really hurt. I know it had to because I had seen it hit and bounce.
I believe that I had a God appointment today. If I hadn’t been in the store, she would have laid there alone until she came around. Even though she hit the door where the other girls were, they never heard a thing. She wasn’t with it and didn’t speak for at least another 5 minutes after she came around. Would she even be able to get up? As it were, I was able to encourage her, tell her that I would pray for her, and was able to pray for her the whole time I was with her. When I left the mall I encountered the ambulance and followed it half way to the ER, so I got to pray some more for her health and the baby. A God appointment? I think so.
Eli is fine, though he didn’t seem to be this morning. What was that all about this morning? Who knows but when the opportunity presents itself what do you do with the opportunity?
I will be going back into the store and checking up on how she is. Who knows what opportunities will present themselves when I do, but I am gonna go with it. Are you open to God appointments? Do you even see them as His appointment? Maybe you should look for His opportunities so that you can be about His business and not just your own. I dare you…
