It was three days before Easter.

Three of my kids had “Easter outfits.” The other four did not.

I know. I know. That’s totally not what Easter is about. But, I enjoy seeing them all dressed up. Besides, it was time for them to get some new dress clothes. The ones they’ve been wearing were looking a little tattered.

I can’t STAND shopping.

Bet you’d like to start a support group for me, huh?

So…I procrastinated. I hate it when I do that. Cuz now here it is, time to think about what Christ did for me, and I need to shop.

So shop we did. Three days before Easter.

Sigh.

Thankfully my hubby came along and we only had to take four of the kids.

Pick out clothes. Try them on. Rule them out. Pick out clothes. Try them on. Rule them out. Repeat.

Finally, three out of the four have outfits to my satisfaction. At 5 minutes until 9 pm. Closing. That means doing a little shopping the next day. But hey, we’re done. As in, I needed to be done with shopping.

However, I had promised Tye, our 8 year old, that we would stop at Target. He had birthday money to spend and was looking to get a new DS game. And Svanna (one of our 10 year olds) needed a couple of things as well.

So we stopped at Target. We were in a hurry. Our sitter was waiting. It was a 45 minute drive home.

So the hubby dropped off Tye, Svanna and myself at the entrance.

We have a bright red, 12 passenger van. Very inconspicuous. It’s a little tricky maneuvering out of the backseat, where Svanna was. So by the time she got out, there were a couple of cars waiting behind us.
Then of course, she paused to gather herself before moving on. I chastised her a tiny bit. Come on, come on! People are waiting.

In the store we go. Read the signs. Over to the DS games. Deep breath. Ok, Tye, what do you think?

A gal behind us looked like she wanted to look at the games, too. So I told Svanna to move the cart out of her way.

Oh, no, she said. You’re fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you.

Turns out, she was stalking me.

“How many kids do you have?”

Seven, I said with a smile.

“Are they all adopted?” I’m guessing when I’m with one white child and one black, adoption is a fair assumption.

No, I have three biological kids and four adopted.

“Oh,” she said with a smile and relief, “we have four kids and we’re looking to adopt a sibling group of four. We were waiting behind you when you got out. And I knew I just had to talk to you.”

Inside I was immediately grateful I’d only chastised Svanna a tiny bit, and wished I hadn’t at all. Since….well, God used it for a divine appointment.

We went on to chat about larger families, if people thought we were crazy, if our families were supportive, and about not exactly knowing what God plans are.

Our conversation only lasted about 5 or 6 minutes, since we were both in a hurry. But wow. I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.

I told her to look up the Katelyn’s Fund website and told her what a great support Katelyn’s Fund has been to us.

I gave her my email. I hope she emails me.

She ended the conversation apologizing for “stalking” me. I told her I didn’t mind a bit.

I was no longer tired and frustrated. I had been a part of something God had orchestrated. I was energized.
You just never know. Something I thought was a hassle, God was using.

Keep your eyes open.