Amazing

I had a couple of appointments Saturday -- one to get my hair cut and colored, the other to get my eyes checked. Well, I decided to make a day of it, since I needed to be out for those, and I hadn't had a day out like that in ages.



Got the hair cut, colored, made a swing by starbucks for use of their ladies room, a caramel macchiato and a bagel, then on to the eye doc. I had to fill out a form as a returning patient, and thanked the doc's receptionist (who is also her mom) for playing Christian music in the waiting area. I told her I appreciated it, that it made such a difference hearing that instead of pop or something, etc.



Well, when I got in for my exam, the doc asked me what church I went to, since she had overheard me talking with her mom. I told her I don't have a church home right now, but the Lord had really been pushing me to find one lately. Well she told me about her church and about the marrieds group she and her husband lead there.



The, she said that if I'd like to go to the Fort Worth campus of the church (she goes to the Dallas one) to just let her know, that she would go with me -- she said she would give me her card with her cell number on it.



When I walked out, she went out with me, grabbed a card, and on the back wrote "cell - ###-###-#### To go to church or for a girls' night out." I was stunned and so touched. I'm looking forward to meeting up with her for a coffee and a chat, at the least.



Another thing I noticed that I hadn't the last time I saw her, was a tiny, handwritten sign she had over her lightswitch. It said, "Stay Focused, Work Hard, Honor God."



It continues to amaze me constantly who God puts in our paths and what he does with our lives, once we put aside foolish pride and desire for self and ask Him to take over and lead us.



@>~~>~~ New Subject ~~<~~<@



Last summer, a friend of mine at work who is also a Christian and also a crocheter told me about a project she was doing to crochet blankets for the elderly in nursing homes. I had heard of and thought of doing this before, but never did, so looked for places with her to volunteer. Well, the one I chose never worked out.



It had been on my heart lately to do SOMETHING with my crafty gifts God gave me to serve others, but what to do? I asked A. about the blanket idea, but my heart just didn't "feel" that project, as noble and wonderful as I think it is.



Lo and behold, I got an e-mail from one of the yarn companies I love, with a charity spotlight in it. They do them monthly but I SWEAR I had never seen one before that day. It was for a group who crochets and knits baby items to donate to hospitals to be given away to preemies and indigent people who don't really have anything for their babies. A neat project, but again it just wasn't *there* for me.



I followed the link in the email to look at more of the charity profiles. I found one that was started by a woman in Weatherford, just like 15 minutes from here. She has a support group for women who have lost a child. She said in her post someone had given her a prayer shawl when she lost her son, and it had been such a blessing for her -- she said when she was sad, she would wrap herself in her shawl and cry and feel like God had His arms around her. She said she was seeking a prayer shawl ministry to make shawls for the women in the group.



I was so touched and her post weighed on me so heavily. I prayed about it several times, asking God if that was where He wanted me to work. I emailed the lady who left the post and asked her if she was still seeking shawls. And Saturday on my day out, I went to Hobby Lobby and, before I even heard back from her, I bought a book about prayer shawl ministries, and I stood in front of the yarn and prayed that God would move me to the right one for my first shawl. (Sounds silly to pray for yarn, I know, but I also know that I'm not making this for me, and it's not even really being made BY me. It's for some poor woman who lost her baby, and I so want it to be a constant reminder to her that someone prays for her comfort, her healing, and her sake.



I didn't get the yarn I liked. I looked at several shades and textures of green. I was moved to one that has shades of dark blue, red, green and gold in it. It's very rich and bold.



This is, I hope and pray, just the first of many shawls I make for people who need the prayer and the comfort. I've even been thinking about trying to start a prayer shawl ministry. I'd love to be able to share this experience with other crafters -- and have that many more shawls to send to people.



On top of this, I was inspired by the post about the baby items to find a local group who makes chemo caps for kids -- or find a local hospital who would take donations of them. I think it would be such a blessing to make all sorts of cute, pretty, and even fun and silly hats for the little kids who've lost their hair to chemo.