You Never Know...

Saturday I had some groceries I needed. I ran up to WalMart while the girls were napping. That is what I usually do...let Eric do homework while the babies sleep and I can shop without two little ones. That is quite the feat, let me tell you! If I have both babies, I am limited to just a few items...whatever I can fit in the bottom of the stroller. :)

So here I am in line with a basket full of groceries. I usually try to be friendly to the checkers and say hello and ask them how they are doing...my mother and grandmother always told us to do that. They said you never know how you might impact someone's day. I said hello to the young girl and asked her if she was having a good day. Now remember this is Valentines Day!

She was kind of soft-spoken and I had a hard time hearing her at first. But she said she guessed. Then she started talking...and I mean, talking. She told me how she wondered if her boyfriend really loved her and kept pushing him so she could find out, and how she knew that was risky, but she just had to do it. She told me how it is so hard because he is her first love. She then said that she wasn't sure if they had just broken up or not and that she might be pregnant and that she was just so tired of dating. She was talking a million miles a minute and just pouring her heart out to me! I really couldn't say much either. I just had to listen and nod.

She told me that she was 18 and her boyfriend was 21 and that she just couldn't date guys her own age, because they were even more stupid than the 21 year olds. :) At this point, I told her that boys did tend to mature a little slower. :) So she kept on talking...I didn't mind at all.

I knew more about this sweet girl at WalMart in 10 minutes than I knew about some of my friends after a couple of months. She was so precious and scared and confused about life. She told me that the possible pregnancy was scaring her and that she was starting to see herself become like each one of her parents, and trust her, that was not a good thing. She was tempted to not date anymore until she was old...like 30!! I of course, really had to work at not laughing at this statement!

All I was really able to tell her was that she needed to demand that a guy treat her well and she needed to wait for a prince. I told her that I waited 27 years for mine and he is worth every tear and lonely moment!! I also told her that if she was pregnant, it would be okay. I wanted to tell her that babies are wonderful and there were lots of people out there willing to help her, but I didn't get the chance.

I got in the car and sat there for a minute...God, did I say the right things? I could have said so much more, but she just kept talking...

Then I realized and truly feel like this is what happened....God had put me in that position JUST to listen to her. She needed to talk. She was upset and now having to work and she just wanted someone to tell her problems to. I am grateful that I was there and that she was willing to share those intimate details with me. Now I can pray for her and, who knows, maybe get in her line again. I was thankful for the experience!!

On a funnier note, Eric asked me if she was slow at bagging my groceries because she was talking so much. I told him that the faster she talked, the faster she scanned and bagged. She was pretty sweet!