“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, KJV)
We were at new Whole Foods store getting last minute groceries for the coming Christmas celebration.
At this store, you are called up to the cashier by a number, so you don’t get to just line up where you want. I had to trust God to get us to the person He had prepared to receive the gospel.
When it was our turn, the light on a number flashed. After we walked to the cashier, we found we were in front of a young, sweet girl. She seemed to be Hispanic.
“Are you celebrating Christmas?” I asked joyfully.
“No,” she responded sadly.
“Why not?” I asked in concern.
As she was ringing up our groceries, she explained, “I am working.”
“Well, maybe you can celebrate afterward with your family.”
“All my family is working. None of us will be home. I work two jobs,” she responded with such sadness and loneliness. My heart broke.
“Well, your circumstances and situations may change, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” I said.
“That’s true,” she said.
“Well, why don’t you celebrate Christmas on your own? There are some small pecan pies in little boxes. You can buy one, turn on a Christian station on your radio, and just sing to the Lord and celebrate His birth! Do you know Jesus?”
“My family used to go to church together, but now that we are all working, that stopped,” she said, as she kept ringing up the items.
“Have you ever asked Jesus to be your personal Saviour—the Saviour of your soul?” I asked.
“No, I never have.”
“Well, I am going to help you do that right now,” I told her.
Something happened in her heart. “You are?!” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, we are going to pray together to ask Him. Would you like that?” I asked.
“Oh yes, I would!” she answered with such delight.
I looked around. Not one customer had lined up behind us, yet the other cashier areas had lines. I whispered to my husband, “Please go get one of those small pecan pies.” He rushed to go get it.
Just then a customer lined up behind me. The young girl was not distracted, so I stayed focused on her salvation.
“Let’s pray.” We both put the last items in the bags, as we prayed. As she confessed Jesus as her Saviour, she smiled more and more. She asked Him to forgive her sins and gave her life to Him to be used for His glory.
The minute we finished praying, she could hardly contain her joy. “Oh, please, may I hug you?!” Before I answered, she came around the counter and gave me the biggest tight, sweet hug. “Thank you, Thank you!” I could have hung on to her hug for a very long time!
“Here.” I put the small box that contained a pecan pie in front of her.
“For me?! For me?!” she joyfully responded with excitement.
“Now you have something to celebrate!” I told her.
“Yes, yes, I do!” she exclaimed, taking that small pie into her hands with a big smile, as if it were the best gift ever! But her greatest gift was Jesus!
As we started to leave, I gave her the name of the radio station she could listen to. She took note of it. Then we took a photo of her smiling – joy!
“Abba Father, this young girl made my Christmas! She was so sad and lonely. But, Jesus, just the thought of knowing You was her delight! How special that was, Lord! I could have brought her home with me, Father. Oh, Lord, may You bring many more lonely young women my way. I want them to know that You love them. Holy Spirit, draw them to Jesus and place them in front of me! Jesus, You are the Lord of the lonely. I want them to know that You are the delight of their heart who can takes away the silence of loneliness and sadness. You are the everlasting gift of Christmas – The Saviour of Souls!”