Elizabeth’s Story
I’d like to share with you today the story of a wonderful lady I am blessed to have as a friend and blessed to have in my life. Last year sometime I changed my hours to 8:30 – 5:30. After this change occasionally I would be running a few minutes late leaving and I began to pass this lady on my way out. She was in her late 50’s or early 60’s and works on the cleaning crew which comes in late at night. She would always smile and say hello. Sometimes we’d exchange a few words, but I was always in a hurry because I had to pick up my son by 6:00. One afternoon several months back I asked her what her name was. She said, “Elizabeth” with that big smile of hers. Several weeks ago on my way out on an afternoon the week before Christmas, she said hello. I had a lot going on that day and week and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders more so as I couldn’t see things clearly at all. Someone I expected to show understanding that day to my circumstances had not. Someone, who was in a position too and I thought should have, had not. Remember my words later. Elizabeth wanted to help but as she asked me what was wrong and I tried to tell her, I really didn’t listen to anything she said. Not deliberately, I just couldn’t hear her. I left that day and didn’t sleep much that night. I didn’t see her until yesterday and she said, “Come here and see me, and tell me how you are doing. You looked so bad the last time I saw you and I knew something was wrong. I have been praying for you. I have been so worried about you. How are you?” We talked and I told her what had happened, and that things were a lot better and I was doing alright. She seemed so happy to hear that. She continually said, “You’ve been on my mind the last couple of weeks, and I was just hoping you was okay.” I asked her how her Christmas went and she said she spent it alone. She said, “That was okay though, I watched the snow fall and it was a pretty day.” We spent a few more minutes and I said I have to go. She said, “Okay, I am just soooo glad you are okay.”
As I walked out, I thought many times I look at someone who should do the right thing but doesn’t. Is in the position to do the right thing, but doesn’t. Someone who seems to be in a position in my life that could show mercy but doesn’t, and handles something that affects me directly and results in changing my circumstances directly (or so it seems), but chooses their own way. As she had minutes before listened to me tell her that, I heard her words this time as I drove home. She had spoken softly and said, “Only the Lord makes the decisions for you and He makes the right ones. Look to Him.” She told me that every morning when she gets up she says, “Lord, its Elizabeth. I am going to go ahead and give you my problems because you can do with them so much more than I. I do not know how to handle them or what to do so please take them and show me Your way! Thank you for your rest Lord.” I realized when she said this that just because someone is in a position of authority over us doesn’t mean they will do the right thing. We must not look to them or anyone else in our lives and let them dictate anything. I have to be careful in saying this, but as I see this lady, who probably makes barely above minimum wage, cleaning bathrooms each night with this big smile and this blessed outlook, who is in my life and cares about me and blessed me and prayed for me, I have to ask, why did she do that? When you would expect the president of your company to understand or even your supervisor, from my perspective the one who held the lowest position at our company cared the most for my situation. I learned a few things from Elizabeth. One- first and foremost I must give it to God. But I give it to Him in surrender, it is something He takes. It still can’t be me who does it, not something I do in my energy. It has to be HIM. Second – things are not always as they seem to us. Someone can seem to and may have everything in the world but that is them. Never mind if the person you think should do something doesn’t, be thankful and blessed if you have someone who does. Pray for all those in our lives. I consider Elizabeth a friend. Someone who I see every so often impacts me so much. Someone who to me seems like she could be so unhappy looks like the richest lady on earth. There was so much truth God spoke to me yesterday through Elizabeth that I can’t get my head around it all. I know He speaks on today through her to you and you will take away much as well. Don’t worry about what you do not have; God takes care of what you need. He can only be spoken through and worked through when we quit worrying about ourselves and our wants and needs and let Him worry about that. When our life is surrendered! When I get up and say, “Lord, its Alan. I am going to go ahead and give you my problems because you can do with them so much more than I. I do not know how to handle them or what to do so please take them and show me Your way! Thank you for your rest Lord.”
God puts the right people in our lives and takes care of everything perfectly when we let Him
When He teaches me to see as He sees, I shall see as He sees, not as I see
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