A Girl In The Parking Lot

It was a busy Friday. Thursday I told Mom that we would go out to lunch and shopping on Friday, forgetting that I had a PT session scheduled for Friday afternoon. I rescheduled the appointment Friday morning, not wanting to disappoint Mom, who was looking forward to our girl's day out.

We had fun. We went to lunch at IHOP near the mall, then shopped for casual slip-on shoes and a cool summer outfit for Mom for Mother's Day. She found some cute Easy Spirit canvas clogs (very comfortable), a pair of black and white capris and a black tee. We had tentative plans to go grocery shopping, but by the time we left the mall it was already 3 PM, so we headed back to her place to take Teddy out.

Still on a quest for a pretty hummingbird feeder, I stopped at a store on the way home. I found what I wanted there, and bought one for Mom and one for me. In the parking lot, I had just gotten into my car when I heard someone saying, "Ma'am! Ma'am!" A young woman with a baby in a carrier was standing on the passenger side of the car calling to me. I couldn't get my car window to roll down (later figured out the child lock was on), so she came around to my side and asked if I had some spare change. I dug around in my purse and car trying to find some money to give her, as I didn't have any cash with me.

She had a blanket over the baby carrier, trying to shield the baby from the sun, but it was windy and 97°. The blanket wasn't staying in place and the sun was beating down. I was worried about the baby, who was very tiny, and said to her, "Sweetie, what are you doing? The baby is going to get sunburned." She said she was trying to get enough money to pay her rent at a cheap motel for another week. I asked her if she had anyone who could help her, family in town? She said that was the problem--her mother had kicked her out of the house. :o( I asked her how old the baby was, and she said a month and a half. I asked if she had a car, and she said no.

After I gave her what change I dug up, she thanked me and I asked her name so that I could pray for her. She said, "Natalie." I left, but was heartsick all the way home. As soon as Ron got home I told him we had to go look for her, and he went back with me, but we didn't find her. I thought we could pay her rent at the motel for another week, and I keep wondering how she is providing for her baby.

I'm praying that she told her story to someone who is better at knowing what to do in these situations than me, and they helped her right away. I am so bad at these things. People are always coming to me, usually in parking lots, asking for help. I always give them money if I have any, but I'm too much of a coward to put them in my car and take them somewhere they can get help, or to get very involved. I've heard so many scary stories about bad things happening to people who try to help that I'm wary. That's why I went home and waited for Ron--I wanted him to go with me, but an hour had passed by then and she was gone.

I may go back tomorrow and see if she is there. It just makes me so sad and worried for her and the baby. It's dangerous, what she was doing. And I know I don't know the whole story, but what kind of mom kicks her daughter out with a 6 week old baby?

I need to come up with a plan for when this happens again. I keep thinking God is sending these people to me and I am failing to do what I'm supposed to do.

Anyway, please pray for Natalie and her baby. Thanks!

It's Friday, so Reece is here and helped keep my mind occupied. Ron and I took him out to eat and to the grocery store. Reece loves going to the grocery store. :o)