An Odell moment

The other day my mom and I were going to go shopping. I hadn't been in a while so I got my money and off we went! We had to stop for gas before we started. At the gas station a woman came up to mom and explained that she was from FL. She had run out of gas and money and she needed to get to Peachtree City. She asked if mom had any money to spare. Well, mom checked her wallet but she only had a quarter. The woman took her quarter and then went to try to find someone else. While all of this was happening I was in the car listening to what was going on. My first reaction was to judge. I thought "How could she be so unprepared? Doesn't she realize that she is going to need a lot of money because gas prices are growing every day!?" Then, my memory immediately took me back to my "Faithweek" in New Zealand.

I remembered what it felt like to not have very much money. I once again felt the sting of being judged all too quickly, being judged by people who called themselves Christian. My heart was convicted. I prayed and felt like I should give that lady 20 bucks. I stumbled out of the car, my watery eyes preventing me from seeing the ground. I ran around the corner and saw the woman asking someone alse for money. I saw their jugdemental eyes looking her up and down. I quickly ran over to her and mumbled "here." I was so emotional. I was ashamed that my first reaction had not been a Christ-like one. I don't know what that woman was thinking, but she was probabbly baffled by my sad expression. I nodded as she thanked me. Jogging back to my car, I thought of Odell. She was a woman who I had met on "Faithweek." Although she didn't even claim to be a Christian, her actions spoke so much louder. She showed me Jesus' kindness and mercy. She didn't judge my friends and me. It was like she was looking for opportunities to bless people.

If you haven't heard my "Faithweek" experience, ask me about it. It was out of this world awesome!

Sara Chapman