Taking Advantage of a Captive Audience

Long overdue for a nail pick-me-up (aka manicure), I head to my local nail salon. It’s Tuesday so not the usual crowd. Great – I’ll be in and out in a jiffy! An adorable Vietnamese girl, who by the way, speaks English very well, greets me and invites me to sit at her booth. Her name is June. "Like the month”, she says. I reply, “I’m Donna, not like Madonna!”

Initially, I go into a zone of thinking internally, but not for long. I start getting those nudges again. I’m learning to yield to those nudges, more often than not. June is my captive audience and what do I have to lose? I find out she’s 20-years-old, lives here with her uncle and aunt and their two young boys (who, by the way, annoy her sometimes, but she loves them anyway). Here for four years, she misses her family in Vietnam. I ease up on the questions as we are taken with Dr. Oz interviewing a former pharmacist on a TV screen behind her. The pharmacist incorrectly filled a prescription for a 3-year-old girl that took her life. He served time in prison though it was a combination of mistakes made by others in the medical industry. The child’s father was on the show and apologized for what the pharmacist had gone through. He says: "God helped me forgive."

June and I are touched by this story. I know I need to go in for more: “So, June, what are your dreams?” June replies: "I go to college two days a week to become a pharmacist." No wonder she is taken with Dr. Oz’s interview. "But, I don't want to stop there. I want to become a doctor, but it's going to take so long!" Now, I step up my game to being “Mama Donna”, rather than “Madonna” to her. We talk about God’s love and plans for her -- that if she’d let Him be a part of her life, He'll help her. I say, “Play the movie in your mind. Six or eight years will go by whether or not you continue on with your dreams. The movie is playing. See yourself graduating and serving in a clinic or hospital and making a really good income. Or, see the movie where you stop your studies and at the end of six or eight years, see yourself wishing you had stayed with it and regretting your decision.” She says, “I’m not quitting!”

Then I go in for the jugular. “June, do you believe in God?"
June: “I’m Buddhist”.
Donna: “I understand that Buddha was a very good man.”
June: “Yes, he taught when we do good, we receive good."
Donna: “That’s what I believe too! Jesus said, 'You reap what you sow!' The beautiful part about God is that He loved us all so much that He gave His Son to us and He died for us, but the best part that’s different from Buddha is He didn’t stay dead. He’s alive and He lives in our hearts when we invite Him in.”

June finishes my nails and starts to stand up. I ask her “Can I pray for you?” Wide-eyed, she says, “Here? Now?” I say, “Yes”. She sits down and I hold her hands and pray: “Heavenly Father. Oh, how much you love June. She’s your daughter and she has big dreams. I pray that she is given the will power to finish strong in whatever she pursues, and I pray that she wants to pursue You with all her heart and come to know you and your Son in a real and personal way. In Christ Jesus' name, I pray. Amen! I love you, June!”
June: I love you too! Will you come back?"
Donna: I will be back. What days are you here?
June: Everyday except Monday and Wednesday. when I go to school.

Going to the nail salon has always been about me settling in for a nice, relaxing, it’s-all-about-me experience. I tune out the manicurist mostly because of a language barrier. But, this day, I sensed I was on a mission. I like to think that I’ll see June again on this side of heaven and I’ll water the seeds I planted a little more. I pray that someone else will come along and water the seeds, too, and God will make them grow.

The Apostle Paul wrote: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)
Dear God, please help sweet June grow in You! Amen!

Feeling Touched

After several days of opening boxes and sorting through the many items that needed to be put away in my new home, I looked at my hands and nails, and realized they needed some TLC. I headed to the nail salon and proceeded to get "my usual". The manicurist was one I had never met before but she seemed intuitive to my weariness because, rather than just proceed with getting the job done, she would stop to hold and caress my hands periodically. I had my head down and then looked at her. I said, “You’re making me cry.” She said, “I get that often. I’m just giving you some of my energy.” I didn’t sit there and analyze what that meant. All I knew, I felt so loved and revived by the touch of this little Vietnamese gal. She was touching me with love that I needed.

We all know the power of a caring touch. The doctor who treated us, the teacher that dried our tears, the hand holding ours at a funeral, the hand of our sweetheart reaching out to hold ours, or a handshake of welcome at an event. But it seems that lately I’ve noticed the power of touch even more. My sweet granddaughter, Ruth, is a Neonatal Intensive Care nurse and she told me how important it is for those preemies to be touched. All babies seem to do a little better when they're held, caressed and hugged frequently—but for those born prematurely, it is especially true. In fact, how much a preemie is touched can make a huge difference in their overall well-being and ability to thrive. Infant and preemie touch and massage are "a powerful means of teaching children, from day one, that they are loved and deserving of love."

I have dear friends who recently gave birth to their twin baby girls – two months early. I’ve followed their progress daily via their FB updates that are filled with faith and optimism, though it's been touch and go with many ups and downs on this journey. I learned something I didn't know before. This precious couple embraces their daily opportunity for kangaroo care where the babies are placed skin to skin with their mom and dad. I understand that kangaroo care improves bonding and closeness to their babies, and the babies sense how loved they are.

Like my little manicurist yesterday, shouldn't we be reaching out and touching others also? Many of us do. We use our hands to pray for the sick, or to reach out with a congratulatory high-5 or even to write a letter or make a call or bake a pie for someone who needs us.

Let's make the difference in someone's world today....by reaching out and touching them. They'll know they are loved, and appreciated when we do! Diana Ross sang it so well: "Reach out and touch somebody's hand -- make this world a better place, if you can!"

God Takes Pleasure When We Take Pleasure

Yesterday was planned around Alexia -- some girl time, her getting to choose where we would eat for breakfast and dinner -- being pampered at the nail salon, her picking some great decor' for her new bedroom, getting her "Fall Harvest" costume -- it was a "by design" day that continues to celebrate her Rite of Passage (she'll turn 13 in Sept).

I was thrilled to be a part of this day and getting to watch as she received the next "key" that might be the "one" that would open her Rite-of-Passage Treasure Chest. Yesterday's leadership "key" was COURAGE. It was another key she received during these many weeks of intense training and preparation by her dad and mom who are pouring into her.

Last night, as an example of courage and willingness to fight and die for a cause bigger than herself, we watched the movie, "Joan of Arc" -- so compelling to see a young woman of courage, power and ability to lead armies and command men. She won many military victories over England and saved France from English rule. She had the ability to endure adversity patiently. She was steadfast and loyal to a king who abandoned her to her enemies. But most of all, she loved God, and her loyalty and patient acceptance to His Will for her life, makes her a genuine heroine and role model for us all -- not to mention my precious granddaughter who is being equipped with the "keys" that are creating a firm foundation in her life as she continues to grow into womanhood.

As I took this day in -- with all its enjoyments and pleasures -- and ending with this strong emphasis on courage, I realized that is what Father God wants for all His kids. He wants us to enjoy all that is around us -- He takes pleasure in our joy. But most importantly He wants us to grow in all the ways of becoming, being, and doing -- people of courage, purpose and destiny -- to change our world. I pray this for Alexia, I continue to strive for this with all my heart.