We Need To Teach Our Children This...

I don’t really consider myself a shopper, but I do love a good bargain - which is why it was totally out of character for me to go into a jewelry store at the airport today. No one ever brags about a bargain they find in an airport, but nonetheless I found myself drawn to go in anyway.

I had barely stepped over the threshold when a bubbly young woman approached me, offering to help me. She was the perfect amount of attentive and made interacting with her easy and natural. I told her about my first piece of this particular jewelry; how a friend had given it to me when my son was battling cancer.

After asking how Matt was doing post-cancer, her smile softened and she told me she had lost her 43-year-old mother to kidney cancer in the past year.”It’s fine, she’s in a better place,” she said as I paused to look into her eyes.

“You’re very brave, but it’s really not fine,” I told her, explaining that I too lost my mother to cancer. “And it might not be for a while.”

We talked about how time heals and about the challenges of creating a new normal - especially at the fragile age of 21. As she helped me pick out a new bracelet, I welcomed the excuse to linger in her presence, to pray over the life ahead of her without her mother and to thank God for his nudging to go into this store.

On the flight home, I checked in with a dear friend who is approaching the third anniversary of her mother’s death. Even for her, there are still days when it’s NOT ok - and I am thankful she can admit it.

I hope we can teach ourselves and our children that life is hard and there are days when we need to admit it. The good news is that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) And He will often use our painful experiences to minister to others when we least expect it, including in a jewelry store at an airport.