The other day, I popped into one of my favorite Dallas malls. I had one whole hour that I got to use meandering in and out of stores; window shopping and trying to keep my money where it belongs – in my wallet!
There was one store in particular that caught my eye. Forever 21 is normally a store that I steer clear of. There’s something about the chaotic arrangement of the clothes, the loud music and huge crowds of young’uns that seems to give me a bit of a headache. But that day, I just couldn’t resist. You see, I love the fashions in there and today I was drawn by an outfit that was on a mannequin in the window. So, I waltzed in and, gladly, there weren’t many people in there. I shopped around for a bit and found an inexpensive vest that made me smile.
I was waiting in line at the counter when a sweet, friendly woman walked over to me and said, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Priscilla Shirer?” I thought about pulling her leg for a little while, but decided against it and told her who I was. We exchanged warm pleasantries and then I got to meet her daughter and friends who were with her. And low and behold, after a few minutes of conversation her daughter pointed out her T-Shirt that I’d unbelievably overlooked.
I was stunned. . . and encouraged. You see, on this side of the computer, writing and studying and praying for you, I don’t always get to see the faces, hear the stories or. . .see the T-shirts (who knew that anyone actually wore them except me?) So God uses my encounters with random strangers (who immediately become sweet sisters in Christ) to put a face with our mission to help women “go beyond” in their relationship with the Lord.
So I say “thank you” to the Forever 21 lovin’ posse I met today. What an encouragement to hear what the Bible studies and conferences have meant to you and to see you sporting our GB gear.Making the acquaintance of these sisters made me think of how many of you I’ve not yet had the honor to meet. In fact, our website statistic thing-a-ma-jig tells us that there are tons of you who are visiting the blog and reading the posts but don’t leave comments that give us a chance to “meet” you. Nothing wrong with that but I thought a wee little “roll call” would be nice. And since I may never step foot in Forever 21 again (pending the music volume level and crowd control), we might as well meet right here. I can only imagine what an encouragement it might be to the folks that are working along side of me at GB Ministries for you to leave a quick sentence or two about a conference you attended, or resources you’ve read, a conversation that’s unfolded, a devotional you’ve read, post you’ve encountered on this site or life change that’s developed as a result of our prayers for you. It certainly is our privilege to serve you and we hope to meet you someday – face to face.
Until then, we’ll keep on serving and going beyond. . . right along with ya.Looking forward to meeting you today.Priscilla
