Do You Know Me?

Friday- it was one of THOSE days.

You know, a day where everything goes from bad to worse.

I was up at 4:00 a.m. because one child wet her bed.

We were all up early and out the door for an early morning field trip, only to find out when we got there, it had to be cancelled.

The children aren't listening.

They're fighting with one another.

Money is tight.

I try to get some Christmas shopping done and the coupons I brought aren't good 'til next week.

The kids don't wanna nap.

I think I'm close to the Lord but as each moment of the day passes, it's obvious that in fact, I'm slipping further and further away.

The same child wets her bed for the 2nd time that day.

I'm working on my 3rd load of laundry.

It's bath time- at 4:00 p.m.

I could really use my dear hubby's help about now. Bless his heart, he's out playing a well deserved round of golf.

Have you ever had one of THESE days?

By the time Morgan came home and asked me how my day was, I was exhausted and told him that mommy needed a hug.

The kids told him, "Mommy yelled."

They all hugged me one by one and told me that they loved me. :)

We head to Costco as a family for some groceries and dinner (yeah, at the healthy food court--NOT!).

By now, my mood had lightened and just the presence of my husband makes things better.

We eat, we shop. There may very well be a glimmer of hope left in the day.

Then it happened.

While I was standing there (between the isles of toys and packaged tin cookies), a beautiful boy, around 6-7 years old, came up to me and asked,

"Do you know me?"

I looked at him in slight wonder and said, "No, honey~ why, are you lost?"

He looked at me with those big black eyes and gently said, "No." Then pointed to a direction as if to tell me that his family was over there.

(Ok, kinda odd but whatever). He walked away without another word.

We paid at the cashier and began slowly making our way out the store.

With receipt in hand, there were about 4 other carts in front of us, lined up toward the exit.

Morgan went to go refill his drink when all of a sudden, the same beautiful boy walks towards me from the exit of the store. His eyes are fixed on me as he walks right up and reaches out for me. His wraps his arms around my waist. His intention- a big hug.

I squeeze him close and all I could say was, "Oh, what a sweet boy you are."

Instead, what I really wanted to tell him was, "Jesus loves you very much."

I watch him as he turns to walk back toward the exit. His family was waiting for him.

I start to think, "I should have told him. I should have said, "Do you know how much Jesus loves you?"

Then Morgan returns and I tell him what just happened. Through the crowd of people leaving the store, I try to point out the beautiful boy in the grey shirt.

I mention what a strange and unexpected blessing he was to me.

I look for him as we pass through the exit with our cart and just like that, he and his family are nowhere to be found.

Again, I think it's all just kinda strange.

Did he mistake me for someone else?

Funny, I don't think I give off a "come get your free hug" kind of vibe. You know what I mean.

As we drove home, I kept thinking, "I should have told him, I should have told him..."

And then it began to make sense.

He told me.

Through our brief encounter, it was as if this boy (whom I had never met before) was saying, "Jesus loves YOU."

"Even though you've had a tough day, even though you've yelled at your kids, even though you feel defeated, even when you don't love yourself, Jesus still loves you and He is here for you."

What a humbling gift to end my day. What an AMAZING reminder of God's tender mercy and grace.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you that we can always come to You.

And thank you for placing angels in our midst.

Do you know Him?