The Lucky Lady

When I was growing up there was this woman that lived in our neighborhood who we called "The Lucky Lady". She was an older woman that lived in a small home and from what we could tell she lived alone. I found her during a Halloween adventure when I was quite young. She opened the door and began to hand out the candy, my eyes widened as my young hands began to feel the weight of full size Snicker and Hershey bars fall into my bag. I can remember looking up at her smiling face and thinking that she just might be the greatest person on the face of this earth.

That Halloween night began a relationship which spanned over 15 years. Whenever I had to sell raffle tickets for football, candy for soccer, or wanted to increase the value of my Halloween stash I would make sure to knock on The Lucky Lady's door. I remember that the older I got the more I began to take note of her features and mannerisms. She had crinkly eyes, which made sense since she was a person that always had a big smile. She always seemed to be wearing a bathrobe, and the smell that came out of her house was a mix of freshly baked cookies and mothballs. I noticed that she would never actually come out of her house, but would stand behind her screen door and then open it just wide enough to give her treasure to my little hands. I loved this lady and she is fond memory from my childhood.

I don't know her name.

I don't know her real name. I don't know anything about her. I don't know where she is from, what she does for a living, who she loves, who she grieves for, what makes her laugh, what makes her cry. I do know that when I needed something she was the first door I knocked on and she gave willingly without question or remorse. The door opened, she would smile, I would ask for what I wanted, she would normally give me more than I would ask for, I would say thank you and go back to my life.

We tend to treat God the same way don't we? Life is this constant whirlwind of activity, conversations, successes, and tragedies. There is a permanent hum that seems to envelop this world and it stems from the energy that is given off by all of us moving at the same time, trying to survive this crazy place we live in. We don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about God as a constant presence in our life. We are much to busy to realize that He is with us every step that we take. We can't even comprehend that in the midst of all of the chaos, He is the glue that holds this whole puzzle together. We choose to look at the obvious and disregard the possible. God is something that we talk about, but don't allow to be a part of our every day life.

That is until we need something.

Then we run to grab our trusty bag, and we march off to see the person who will grant us the gifts that we want. We walk up to the door, knock a couple of times, and wait for The Lucky Lady to come and see us. The door opens and we are warmed by the smile that radiates down on us. We hold up our bag, ask for a gift, and watch with silent expectation as it falls into our life. A quick "thank you" escapes from our lips, and we turn and sprint back to the world, eager to jump back into the chaos with our new found present.

If you were to look back over your shoulder you would see The Lucky Lady give a little wave, shake her head in bemusement, and slowly close the door. She knows that you will be back, and maybe then you will stay a little longer. There is so much that she would like to tell you, so much she would like to share with you, and so much that she wants to give you. She answers the door each time with a smile and tries her hardest to help you, but the biggest thing she waits for are four simple words:

Can I come in?

He has so much to show you, so much He would like to tell you, and so much He would like to give you. He will always open the door when you knock, but I urge you to not just stand outside and ask for a handout. Take that next step and ask to come in. Walk through that door and see what is inside. It is a house that has the ability to save your life.

Knock....Knock....

Can I come in?