This is a story that is on my heart to share with friends, family.....
A story that fills my heart so much with thanksgiving and ignited passion for those who may seem to have a lot, but are without love, right here in America.
Last week Nate and I went on an amazing adventure in the Los Angeles area for our 1st year anniversary of marriage. We had the best time, worshipping God and thanking Him, who gave us each other for the rest of life and eternity!! It has truly been an amazing week of fun, shopping, biking, exploring, spending time with family, and the OCEAN...!
The story I want to share is an encounter we had with a woman one morning at a local coffee shop the second day of our trip. We stayed in a quaint little town on the beach the first four days. The people were friendly and the culture seemed pretty chilled out and cozy. Nate and I walked in the coffee shop, got our drinks, and sat down at the bar to read, talk and enjoy the morning with some yummy java. I noticed a blonde-haired lady sit down beside us. I took a few glances around the room and also noticed some clearance items on a table, so I got up to check them out. After looking everything over and not seeing anything I really wanted, I turned around to go sit down next to Nate. Nate was talking to the blonde-haired lady, and as I walked over, she looked at both of us, greeted us warmly with a smile, and said "oh, you're from out of town?". This began our conversation, one I will always remember...
This woman, whom I will name Sue, began to tell us her story, and pour her heart out to us. She took out pictures of her relatives' farm in Minnesota that she longed to visit again. She told us of her trip there years ago and what it was like. She said it had been 3 weeks since she looked at the pictures, but she dug them out and for some reason, brought them with her. She touched the pictures, and said to us.."look at their clothes!...real worn clothes....and look, real people....they're real. They have breakfast every morning....they cook, and have the neighbors over . The neighbors come in, and you just hear the door slam,....they don't even have to knock...look, they don't have nice decorations, but they're real....and look, this is their farm, they call it their farmstead (she looked at us with the brightest smile on her face)...they fix machinery, they work...and look at this, she knits...isn't that amazing?".
She said to us..."I see it in your faces...you don't have pretense...you've known love....you don't know what you have....". Then she said..."I'm 50 years old, have lived in this town for years and nobody knows me...". She told us a story of how she was rejected by the church down the road. Sue had tried to be friendly and go to lunch with some of the people in the church after a service one morning. They basically told her that they belong to a country club, and can afford their own meals... "You don't know what you have...", she said.
She said, "people don't even pray for each other here....and when someone gets cancer, they cry out....pray! pray! pray for us!....but why would I want to pray for them when they weren't there for me when I needed them? I almost lost my faith because of the church". She began to explain to us the culture of the city where she lived, and how people have happy faces, compliment each other well, are very professional, but everyone is alone. "Nobody knows how to be a real friend", she said. "Everyone lives by pretense here...they are nice, and say 'nice dog' and, and I mean nice dogs...these aren't muts....they talk about events and the weather, but ask you to come to lunch....no..", she sadly said."They have to go to an appointment, or somewhere....everyone is alone here. They don't even decorate their own houses. They have a designer come in, and do everything, and the people that live there don't even know whats in their own house! And they don't make their own coffee. They come here."
Then she asked us what life is like for us. As we told her our stories, tears came to her eyes....she said "you are so blessed...you don't know what you have...you don't know what you have...you don't have walls,....you don't have pretense...oh you don't know what you have!". She told us about a friend she has been "chipping away" at, trying to get to the core of who they are. All she wanted was to know people, and to be known...to have a real friend.
Nate and I felt so blessed to listen to this woman, and to have met her, and love her. We talked for almost 2 hours, easily could have been longer. We prayed for her, blessed her, and encouraged her. We hugged and laughed together. I gave her our number and info, and told her she is welcome to stay with us if she ever wanted to come to Fargo. I pray that she does. You all would love her.
I felt so privileged to meet Sue, that she shared her heart with us, a heart full of dreams, hope and longing for love. My heart has been so stirred with thanksgiving because of this encounter with Sue. I think about our conversation a lot. In America, we have so many dreams, and countless resources at our fingertips. But with out Jesus' love, dreams are broken, unfulfilled, and will not amount to anything, and people end up alone. This nation needs the revelation of Jesus at the core. We need real community, we need love. I am so grateful for the most amazing man on the planet, Nate, to have been blessed with an amazing marriage, and to have friends that will stop what they are doing when I need them because they truly care. That is love. That is a real friend. I'm so thankful to have this culture of love in Fargo. I was reminded again that it really doesn't take much to give to the person sitting next to you at a coffee shop. It's a delight to love. If you've got love to give, He will lead you to the unloved, and they will soak in all the love you can give and be forever changed. Love will change everything. I hope this story stirs in you a greater passion for the lost and unloved as it has for me, and a quest to see love manifest.
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