His Eye is On the Sparrow

Luke 12
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is aforgotten before God?
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.



This scripture has been on my mind all afternoon, and I was blessed with a powerful reminder today of how God is SO AWARE of us, and what can happen when people move as He prompts them.

You see, every M/W, M has swimming lessons after school in a nearby town. I have to pick the girls up from school those days, because their bus takes almost an hour getting home, so we'd barely make it to swimming. But, when I pick them up, we have about 45 minutes to "kill" before heading to the YMCA. Usually, I have an errand to run or a park we want to play at, but I didn't really have an agenda today. The only thing I could think of to do was to go get some gas at Costco.

As I was pulling out of the gas station, I said, "So, do you guys want to go grab some samples, or go do something else?" They were enthusiastic about samples, so I drove up the aisle of the parking lot and was happy to find a sweet spot really close to the store.

I was feeling lame about not even having a real reason to go into the store, so I called my friend to see if she wanted me to pick up some Pirate's Booty for her, as I just introduced her to that addictive snack. We chatted until I got in the store and lost the reception.

I grabbed a pallet (E likes to ride) and we went down a few aisles, spied a sample, and looped back around to grab it. As we headed down the aisle, a woman and her teenage daughter approached us, and she said, "Excuse me. You're going to think I am crazy, but I was wondering if I could ask you some questions? I was in the parking spot next to you when you pulled in."

At this point, I'm thinking, "She hit my car! Or wait, maybe I hit her! But why wouldn't I have noticed that?!"

She continued, "As I was pulling out, I noticed your cute license plate frame (It says, "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?") and then I saw your blue puzzle piece for Autism Speaks. Do you have someone in your family with autism?"

Before I could even answer, M jumped up, "It's me! It's me!" This woman then spent several minutes telling me of her daughter, who is 15 and just recently diagnosed with Asperger's. She kept saying, "We just feel so alone. Do you know any resources specifically for families dealing with Asperger's?"

I was able to tell her of a new online group I am part of (we will meet up eventually, but just getting to know each other online for now) and a few other places I know of. I gave her my name and email address, and she was so flustered that she couldn't remember her email address, so I am waiting for her to contact me first.

She kept saying, "When I saw your car, it was just the strongest feeling that I had to talk to you! I rolled down my window, but you were on the phone. (oops) So then I pulled back into the spot and the guy waiting for it was mad, but I had to follow you." We then talked about how moms will move mountains if they think it will help their kid, which made me remember that Jenny McCarthy was going to be on Oprah today. I just caught part of it on the rerun tonight, and apparently, her new book is called, "Mother Warriors." How appropriate for my little encounter today!

I was so impressed that this mom would repark her car and hunt us down! I don't know that I gave her a ton of info, but I think she felt better after our chat, and I hope she contacts me so I can get her in touch with our Asperger's support group.

What REALLY, REALLY struck me was how the Lord orchestrated the whole thing. We could have just as easily been many other places - the park, the library, the dollar store ;) - but we "just happened" to be in the Costco parking lot, pulling into that one spot in such a huge parking lot... He even "made" it that I didn't have a list and wasn't in a huge hurry to do a lot of shopping. My girls were even relatively patient with the whole thing. The girls and I had a good chat afterward about how much Heavenly Father KNOWS us and wants to bless us. That mom could have easily dismissed the whole thing. I wonder how many times in my life I do that? How many blessings have I forfeited just because I wouldn't "pull back into my parking spot?"

I am grateful for this experience and for the reassurance it gives me that God knows us personally and intimately...even when we're in the Costco parking lot.