The Grizz and a Gypsy

For Allen's birthday this years, Aunt Scarlett and Uncle Raymond helped me make one of his lifelong dreams come true. . . We went to Memphis to see the Grizz play. It was so much fun spending the day walking the city just the 2 of us and then sharing the joy of seeing one of his favorite teams live.

I had one of the most interesting experiences of my life while we were there. . .

While standing in line waiting for a bathroom at Starbucks, a tall man in his mid-forties with long curly hair and an Irish accent came up to me and said, "You're pregnant!" I laughed and asked if it was that obvious. He smiled and said, "It's a girl." I confirmed that it was in fact a girl. Then he proceeded to say, "She's due May 12th. . ." I immediately got chills! He had a 50/50 chance of getting his previous statement right, but stating her correct due date got my attention for sure. . . He went on to say, "This is not your first baby (Jonah was not with us) . . . You have a son who is almost 2." Jonah's birthday was the next week! At this point I was fixated on his every word. . . Curious about where this man came from and how in the world he was accurately stating details of my life. He said, "You're daughter will come 2 weeks early. She'll be 5lbs 10oz, but don't worry- she'll be healthy. . ."

WOW! I mean, seriously, what do you say in a moment like that??

He went on to explain that he was from a long line of Irish gypsies. . . He said he's not a gypsy himself, but when he gets instincts about people they're always right, so he wanted to share. . .

The most interesting aspect of all of this is that during our ride to Memphis I had an extensive and emotional phone conversation with my mom expressing concern over Eve's health and potential delivery complications. At that point she was still breech with the cord around her neck, and for a multitude of reasons it caused me to feel anxious (understatement). . . Needless-to-say, the timing of all of this was interesting.

It was as if the calm of God fell on me when the Irish Gypsy said "She'll be healthy". . . I actually repeated back to him "She'll be healthy?" And he smiled and said, "Yes! She'll be healthy. . ." I received those words in a Divine way in that moment and have genuinely not experienced that level of worry or anxiety over Eve's well being since. . .

I'm not sure what you believe about prophecy or those the Lord can and cannot use to do his work in our lives. I personally believe that he delights in using unexpected people and circumstances to bring about his purposes. I think many are used by him without ever realizing it (yes, even non-Christians). I'm not sure of the Irish Gypsy's spiritual state, but I feel strongly he was used by God that afternoon to speak life and hope over Eve . . . and I receive it still.

Whether she actually comes 2 weeks early and weighs 5lbs, 10oz is quite minimal in my mind. Even if she comes 2 weeks late and weighs 10lbs I'll still feel like that moment and interaction was given to me by God to still my anxious soul and bring assurance and faith I couldn't reach prior. . .