“… for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, KJV)

Due to my not being able to drive yet, I am limited to the time that my husband has to drive us, which is mostly to the grocery stores and other stores to which we have to run an errand.

We were at an out-of-town Trader Joe’s. When it was time to check out our groceries, the lines were long. I didn’t know which one to go to. I looked at all the cashiers and asked the Lord, “Which one are you after, Lord?” But my mind was so caught up with the long lines, I could not listen. I just kept thinking, “Lord, I don’t know which one. The lines are too long. I won’t be able to talk to anyone. There are too many customers.”  So, I got in the shortest line.

I looked at the cashier, as we stood at the end of the line. He seemed to be Asian. This time I thought, “Oh Lord, I don’t think I will be able to talk to that young man about You. He looks rather hard.” His hair was sticking straight up off his scalp. His clothes and face looked a bit dirty. He wore round, black earrings.

As we drew near, he rolled our cart in front of him and started checking out our items. I noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a very bright, gold metal charm. I thought that when I got closer, surely I would see an Asian god on it. But I could not make it out, as I tried to study it.

I asked, “What’s on your necklace?”

As he kept checking our items, he answered, “It’s an H. I used to have another necklace that belonged to my mother and father, but I lost it.”

I said, “Oh, I am so sorry.”

He looked disappointed and said, “Yeah.”

“The H is the same letter that the word heaven starts with,” I said. I waited for a response, as he kept working. “Do you know how to get there?” I asked.

“Heaven?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

“No, actually I do not.”

I asked, “Would you like to know how?”

“How?” he asked, as he continued checking out our items.

“You have to talk to God. You have to ask Him to be your God. You see, His Son, Jesus, died on the cross for you. He loves you. But you must ask Him to be the Saviour of your soul, so you know that you will be in Heaven. Would you like to ask Him now?”

I quickly looked around to see the customers. All the customers were in other lines except for one who had just come behind me and placed the cart right behind the cashier. It amazed me that there was only one customer behind me and all the othes were in other lines. I knew that God kept everyone away. But, I was concerned about the customer behind me. “Will I have the opportunity to pray with him, Lord?” I wondered.

“Yes, I would like to,” he answered. His attention was on our conversation. He was not distracted by the customer behind me.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Yes, I am,” he answered. We started to pray. The customer stood still. It seemed as if all stood still during the time that we prayed, as he believed in Jesus and gave his life to Him. After we finished, he had the most joyful smile that brightened the whole area!

“What does that H stand for?” I asked.

“My name,” he responded.

“What is it?” I asked. He gave his name.

“It’s a good name.”

He smiled. As we  talked, I could tell that he had a very kind heart.

“Do you have a Bible?” I asked him.

“No, I don’t,” he answered.

“I will get you one,” I told him.

He was still smiling so joyfully. He started helping the next customer. He thanked me and said, “I will see you again.” That meant he would wait for that Bible.

I went to the car and quickly grabbed a Bible. I went back into the store and placed it on the counter beside him. He looked at it and then at me and smiled ever so joyfully again!

“Thank you!” he said, with that smile.

“Abba, my husband and I did not think that this man would be open to your Son. Jesus, You surprised us. His responses were with a kind heart. We didn’t think that such a lost-looking young man was the very one you were after. You look at the heart, not at the appearance. What a joy it was to talk with him about You, Lord. I thank You, Lord, for your Holy Spirit’s help. Although my thoughts were in doubt of his having an open heart to You, the Father was drawing him to You and Your Spirit was in control of the situation. He’s Yours, Jesus, for eternity!”