Guest Post by Author Cassie Downs
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” —Mark 8:34
I barely got the words out of my mouth when tears flooded her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks behind her sunglasses and dripped off her chin before she could catch them. I felt like the worst person ever. I made a stranger cry. It wasn’t my intention, and it broke my heart, but God was doing something incredible, and He asked me to be a part of it.
Up one aisle and down the next. Milk, bread, eggs… I checked one thing at a time off of my endless list of groceries. I hate grocery shopping. I’m pretty sure whoever invented grocery stores did so to torture people. I would rather eat staples than go grocery shopping. Okay, I may be exaggerating, but you get the picture. I’m not a fan. But it beats the alternative— go hungry. So, I’ll go ahead and keep torturing myself.
My daughter and I are shopping our hearts out. Up and down the aisles, grabbing and throwing, we wanted out of there as quickly as possible. I like it when Annah tags along. She pushes the cart, and I fill it. It goes by much quicker with my co-shopper. And don’t tell her, but I can not wait till she can solo shop. It’ll be like a dream come true. We finally arrived at the finish line. The checkout line. We loaded our items on the belt and waited for the cashier to break my heart and complete my purchase. And that’s when I saw her. The woman I would soon make cry.
She was bagging and loading her groceries with two toddlers in the cart’s front when she caught my eye. Her kids were probably ages one and three. I laughed a little under my breath as I thought back to my toddler days. Poor momma, I thought. She’s probably exhausted. Then I looked at my now teenage daughter, grateful she was standing at the foot of the cart about to bag and load groceries. I hurried my attention back to the cashier, but as the woman passed me on her way out, we locked eyes. You know, one of those awkward eye locks. I smiled, and she forced an exhausted smile on her face and walked on. She was moving on, but I felt the nudge. You know, the nudge. The Holy Ghost nudge. God spoke to my spirit and nudged me to encourage this clearly exhausted and overwhelmed momma.
Confession time—I struggle with nudges. I love Jesus with my whole heart, but I’m a bit of an introvert. I usually end up being awkward when talking to strangers, so I just let someone else handle that. My list of reasons is generally justifiable…
I’m checking out, I can’t just walk away.
I can’t run off without paying.
The line is too long to do this again.
She’ll be gone by the time I get out of here.
Don’t judge me. I’ll bet you’ve been there too.
I finally decided that if she were still there when I finished paying, bagging, and loading, then I’d encourage her. Pathetic. Right? Encouragement is one of the ways God’s called me to minister, and I still struggle.
So, I pay, I bag, and I’m heading toward my car to load when I see her. She’s still there, and under my breath, I submit to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and head in her direction. Excuse me, ma’am. This may sound crazy, but I feel the need to tell you that you’re doing a great job.
And the waterworks began.
I told her the Lord loves her. He sees her, and He thinks she’s doing great.
As the tears flowed down her face, she told me how she’d had a rough couple of weeks and needed to hear those words more than I knew.
Friend, I’m not tooting my horn, obviously, you read my struggle and how close I came to missing that beautiful opportunity for Jesus to speak to a hurting momma. But I left there thinking about how this is chasing Jesus. It’s about denying yourself and chasing Him through the grocery store. It’s being available for the complete stranger and obeying the spirit when He nudges you. It’s often uncomfortable and scary, but it’s just as often a beautiful blessing.
Chasing Jesus happens in the everyday parts of our lives. It happens when we allow an unrivaled God access to every part, even the dreaded grocery day parts, of our lives. Don’t miss it out of fear. Do it afraid.
If I had continued in my selfishness that day, not only would she have missed a blessing, so would I.
I made a stranger cry, but when I walked away, I, too, had tears. God used me in her moment of doubt and insecurity to encourage her and point her back to Him, and it humbled me.
Don’t miss the moment. Chase Jesus through your home, at your job, in the grocery store, in your school, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing— chase Jesus. Show the world the kind of unrivaled God you serve. A God who is more than enough. A God unlike any other.
Excerpt from Unrivaled, a 60-day devotional
Cassie Downs is a lover of Jesus and her family. She is the author of two books, Chasing Jesus and Unrivaled, both 60-day devotionals. Cassie is also the founder of Everyday Jesus Ministry, a homeschool mom, and a furniture flipper. She resides in Stockton, MO, with her high school sweetheart and husband, Dustin, and their three teenagers.
You can follow her on Instagram @downs.partyof5, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cassie.bowmandowns, and on Amazon at www.amazon.com/stores/Cassie%20Downs/author/B08G2GM2HL