by Cindy Hester
Not long ago while traveling I walked into a little shop on the side of the road in Montego Bay. As we were looking around, I noticed the Jamaican sales woman about my age or a little younger watching me intently. I thought perhaps she was making sure I didn’t need any help. By the hot mess I was by the end of a long day shopping in tropical humidity, she may have been protecting the store merchandise!
After a few minutes watching me, she spoke and asked if there was anything in particular I was looking for. We began a conversation, and I found her to be warm and kind. I happened to ask her how she liked life in Jamaica. She replied that she loved her homeland and the natural beauty, however the crime rate was quite high. She spoke of the need for caution-especially at night. She went on to say she has learned to adapt. She emphatically stressed you cannot always be afraid, you have to live life. I replied saying we must trust God and enjoy each moment of every day we are given.
All of a sudden, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed my wrists. Excitedly she shouted, “Are you a Christian?!?!” I said yes, to which she responded, “I knew it! I just knew it! I could feel a difference as soon as you walked in the store!” It turns out she had just been praying for encouragement and had asked God to speak to her in some way to remind her of His nearness to her. She said that whenever I walked into the store, she felt a sense of kinship. She went on to say she did not frequently find many individuals who spoke so freely of their faith. She held up her arms displaying the chill bumps resulting from the immediate answer to her prayer.
We talked a while and discussed salvation and God’s promises in passages of scripture from the New Testament. She spoke about the dark spirit that infiltrates her country. Then in her beautiful Jamaican accent she said “Grace...grace is a blessing. Were it not for God’s saving grace I wouldn’t be here.” She hungrily continued talking about the Lord with me. I couldn’t help but be amazed at how she had put scripture to memory and at the spiritual insight she shared about those scriptures.
When I got ready to leave, she gave me a warm hug. As she did so, she quietly, and somewhat desperately, asked me to please pray for her and for her country. I couldn’t help but wonder what struggles she faces each day.
She walked me out of the store, and as we walked away she yelled, “My name is Rose. I will be looking forward to seeing you the next time you visit my shop in Jamaica. If for some reason I don’t see you again here, I will see you in heaven because we are sisters in Christ! I will be calling out your name until I find you!”
I left in such amazement of how God works in all areas of this world. I left with a love for the people of Jamaica and desire for God’s grace to be upon them. Please pray for Rose and for her country. Someday I pray I will have the opportunity to introduce you to her in heaven. I have no doubt we will meet again to remember our special encounter that day in a little shop in Montego Bay.
