However, there were a lot of things that weren't typical about this day as I look back now and review this day forever etched in my mind. We had a pleasant afternoon breeze instead of our normal suffocating and sweltering heat so when offered a covered patio seat, we took it. My husband, Jonathon, and I received a gift card to Coal Vines, a local wine and pizza restaurant so we decided to try it for a change rather than our usual Brio brunch. As we sat down, we noticed the table of eight women enjoying their mimosas like gaggling geese. We ordered our late lunch and were enjoying our time with the kids.
The women next to us were having so much fun that we might have missed her first cries for help but her frantic scream silenced them. "He's trying to kill me!" she both cried out and whimpered as she came out of the boutique and into view. The young teenage girl was visibly in distress. We all sat stunned unsure of what to do. Assessing the potential seriousness of the situation, and in a split second, my husband and I both jumped out of our chairs and I ran to her. The mellowed and stunned party of eight looked on startled and confused. They were closer to her but made no movement. My husband hanging back so as not to frighten her further.
I was holding her sweet little shaking shoulders. "Who, sweetie? Who is trying to kill you?" I asked. She just kept repeating that someone was trying to kill her. "Is it your boyfriend? Are you hurt?" I asked. She quickly jumped behind me and pushed me in front of her like a shield and said, "That's Him!" A man walked quickly out the front door of the boutique next to the restaurant. He was only 20 yards away from us. He stared at us with cold, dead eyes. I stepped back and she held tighter. It was creepy and I wasn't sure if he would come for her. I made the decision in my heart that he would have to go through me first. I was not going to abandon this fragile and scared little bird behind me. The character walking towards us did not look like this beautiful young girl's boyfriend. He had long hair and was tucking something in his back pocket that we later found out was a knife. I looked for my husband to help because I thought that it might be a gun. I didn't see Jonathon because he had gone back to our table and was sprinting to his truck to get our concealed handgun (yes, I have a license) Instead of coming towards us the unkempt and scary looking man then took off running and quickly disappeared.
We called 911 and then focused our attention on the girl. She was shaking, crying and holding on to me. I held her and said, "It's okay, sweetie. God saved you. He preserved your life. We never eat here and He sent us here just for you so He could protect you." She caught her breath and wanted to call her dad who arrived in a jiffy. I also told her father that God had intervened for his(His) daughter.
This sweet, precious and terrified young woman then related what happened and we were finally able to piece things together. She was 16 years old and had been working at the boutique alone. A man had come in claiming to be an inspector and had asked her to lean over and unplug an outlet so he could test it. He then put a knife to her throat. He told her that they would walk together to the front door and that she was going to lock it. He didn't tell her what he would do next but, unfortunately, we can guess that he intended to harm her and, in doing so, alter her life forever. His plan went awry because God had a very different plan for this brave young woman. As they started walking towards the door, she took off and that's when she ran out into the light and into God's planned rescue.
In these pivotal moments in life where there is no time to weigh our options or assess danger, we have already internally decided what we are going to do long before we show up. We can either hang back and regret it for the rest of our lives or take a chance and potentially put ourselves in harms way. On 9/11/2001, many brave heroes took that chance and paid the price. Thankfully, I didn't have to that day but, by my choice, I was made willing. Mother's know this with their children. It would be a fight to my last breath and death if someone tried to harm my children. God loves us like that BUT MORE! God NEVER ignores our cries for help. He put himself in harms way and didn't JUST die for us. He endured torture that marred him beyond recognition...that was far worse than death. Stripe by stripe, He loved us in a way that no one else ever could or would. He is the ultimate hero because He loved us first and without reciprocation. His love for us knows no ends. What if we hadn't helped this young woman and said this is NOT MY PROBLEM? She still would have gotten away from the maniac BUT she would NOT have known that God protected her and was her rescuer. I believe that meant more than her physical life being preserved. Her soul was potentially preserved. I know that seed that was planted will bear fruit. Instead of being a victim, she knows that God loves her.
Each day offers us new opportunities to love others and to be heroes. Some aren't as dramatic as the day I described but we can all be a shield from the enemy over someone in our own uniquely built way. The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus brings life and we carry His power. We can defend and protect them by using the gifts that He has given us. If your gift is encouragement you can lift someone up when they are down or you can be a shoulder for them to cry on. For those who have lost hope that the angel will ever stir the waters up for them again, we can challenge them to get up because life can be good again.
I have a friend, Polly, who once worked in a topless bar and now she spends Fridays traveling to local strip clubs. She and her team at www.wearecherished.com bravely battle the enemy for these women's hearts by giving them gifts that show they are cherished daughters. The enemy and some Christians say these women are trash but God says they are His Princesses. I have another friend, Rebecca, who is throwing a baby shower for a same sex couple. We can't control people but we can love them. She isn't condoning anything but following the lead of the Holy Spirit and being obedient. She has spent countless dollars and hours planning this shower to show them that God doesn't hate them but, in fact, loves them. If and when the opportunity presents itself, Rebecca will speak, but, regardless, she has planted a seed of love and IT WILL BEAR FRUIT because of her obedience. Being led by the Holy Spirit means that you do what He tells you to do, when He tells you to do it. I remember when I'm tempted to judge that Jesus saved his harshest words for the religious and "perfect" people and His love and compassion for those sick, needy, and broken. Just like Jesus stood between the woman caught in the act of adultery and her accusers armed with stones in their hand, we must be willing to die before we have any authority to speak to their sin. Rebecca's love for these women COST her and she now has a voice in their life that rejection, hate or disgust would never allow.
There's a superhero in Polly and in Rebecca and in me...there's a superhero in all of us and His name is Jesus. Let Him loose.
http://biblehub.com/isaiah/58-6.htm
http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/1-4.htm
http://biblehub.com/john/5-7.htm
