So our church was in the Maple Leaf Parade again this year. It’s the biggest parade in Southwest Missouri. We had the chance to see over 30,000 people in a city of 13,000… but I can’t get this one interaction out of my head for some reason.
We were walking beside our “float” in the parade handing out business cards advertising our next message series called, “Awakening Compassion,” and also mentioning Trunk-or-Treat on it at all three of our campuses. About half way through, I walked by a lady and her 2 daughters. I think the grandma was sitting next to them all bundled up. I tried to hand the mom and grandma a card and they both declined it, so I kept going down the line. When one of her daughters reached out for a card and I started to hand her one the mom quickly spoke up and said, “no, no, don’t take it. Don’t take it girls.” Wow… it was a business card. No tricks. No strings attached. Just a small advertisement, yet the mom was scared of it. I have to admit that I was a little shocked that she was so insistant that they don’t take one.
If only they could see what was really on the card, maybe they would have taken one. Maybe they would have taken a stack of them for their friends and family. There was nothing magic on that card, but there was a glimpse of the love and hope of the world. At least there was a huge sign that drove by them that they saw. I pray that, somehow, there was a seed that got planted.
I was deeply moved by this story that you shared at FPC. My heart cries out for this family and many others like it! You planted a seed with her. I pray that God will send someone else to water so that she may receive the most awesome gift from Jesus Christ-SALVATION! That you for sharing that story even though it made me cry through both services! The songs we sang along with your story gave me a powerful reminder of what my focus should be here and now! Loving God, Loving People