Lunch En-Counter

So, I went to lunch at a cute little place called the Almond Tree Cafe (& Ice Cream Parlor -- but I didn't have any of that). What I did order was their Supa' Marina Wrap which consisted of rice and black beans with cheese, onion, tomato, lettuce, and cucumbers, sour cream, guacamole and Goddess dressing. On the side were tortilla chips with this wonderful black bean hummus. (Side note: I'm normally not a fan of hummus, though it would make me sound "healthy" to say so -- but this really was delicious.) So why go into all the detail to tell you what I had? Because my original intention was to walk down to the Cow Cafe and have a hotdog with all the trimmings. But after my last entry of choosing junk food over satisfying, I just couldn't let myself do it. Besides, I can get a hotdog about anywhere.

But here's the real reason for the blog on the heals of the previous one. When I walked in, there was a woman sitting at the counter of the cafe. At the time, she was the only "customer" in the place, and I perceived right away that this was not a normal situation. When I walked past her, I tried to make eye contact with her and to smile and speak but she quickly and sharply turned her head and looked away from me. Again I tried, and again she did the same thing. Each time I looked her way, she immediately looked at the wall. There were some obvious issues. I asked the waitress if the woman needed something to eat; and if so, I would gladly provide it for her. At the present, that wasn't the case, and so I waited and prayed that if an opportunity for ministry presented itself, I would be ready with the correct word or touch.

As it happened, the woman got up and left the cafe, never giving me eye contact, and traveled aimlessly down the center of the road. Her story is a tragic one. Come to find out, she was superintendant of the local high school here, and back in the mid-90's, was gang raped. How one can even survive such, I don't know. Needless to say, she has never been the same since. The waitress says the woman has good days and bad days, but lately, it has been mostly bad. As I window shopped after lunch, I tried to keep a sense of awareness for her. If I could just have one more chance, one more opportunity to try and look her in the eye and convey that which has become so foreign to her: Life.

Jesus is recorded in John as saying, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." If this woman knows anything, she knows the reality of the first part of that verse. The evil one has indeed stolen any sense of security she may have had; he has robbed her of any ability to know intimacy; and he has killed the pure life in her.

Would you please pray for Lois, that she would come to know the reality of the second portion of John 10:10? After all, Easter's coming.

Lord Jesus, have mercy.