January 1 - Betty

My first day. I have been worrying and fretting about how today would go for weeks. I only recently committed to this year of praying for strangers. As in, today. I've talked about it, threatened to do it, felt the Lord nudging me on... but today I've committed to actually praying for one stranger each day for a year. That's 365 people!!

I waited all day to take the plunge but finally, at 7pm, told my family I was headed out to find my first stranger. As I was leaving my street I drove through a dark stretch of road and (because I'm so responsible) I was looking at my phone while driving. When I looked up, I saw 20+ teenage boys walking down my street and a few of them jumped in front of my car, to be silly. It scared me. I had been looking at my phone and realized I could have hit them. I was angry at myself and at them for being so irresponsible.

So, because I am a stellar christian and... going along with my theme to pray for people all year long...

I promptly stopped my car and got out to lecture them.

Look, I'm not proud. I definitely did not handle that correctly. I called my husband to share my shame and he said "You should have just prayed for them." Of course. Why didn't I think of that?? I could have scared the crap out of them by chasing them down a dark street yelling "Hey, can I pray for you??" Now that would have been worth blogging about.

But seriously, I let my anger stop me from connecting with those boys. Lesson Learned: Pay attention. Today's stranger may not be at the store where you planned to pray for someone. They may be right down the street.

I made my way to Fred's where I needed to pick up a few items. Before going in I got my head right. I shared my stupid moment with God and talked with Him about how I got that wrong. He agreed, laughed it off, and we took a moment to prepare for the person I would meet inside. (Hey, if you haven't heard God chuckle at your mistakes recently then you're missing out.)

The cashier's name was Betty. I've seen her around for months but today was her day. She didn't have anything specific that she needed prayer for. I was sweating through my hoodie by the time I finished praying. I don't know if anything I said was meaningful. But, I did it. I prayed for my first stranger. I was faithful to do something that God asked me to do and... even though I'm certain it's not supposed to be all about me. I felt great afterward.

I spent the car ride home praying for Betty and trusting that God would bless her even though I was a mess.

#LessonsLearned #PayAttention