The Woman in Animal Print

I pushed my cart across the large marble floor in the cold, lofty entry of the Federal Courthouse. I held the cart out in front of me to accommodate the long strides I was making. On my cart were mini scones, coffee and water with all the trimmings, bound for the sixth floor. There was a meeting in the main conference room in the US Attorneys office, and I had to make delivery by 9:45.

As my cart rattled over the wide grout lines in the marble floor, I passed a bench awkwardly placed under a portrait of a dead man. The bench was populated by a couple of middle aged women. The first I forgot as soon as I saw her. The second addressed me and won herself a place in my memory.

She was an interesting looking woman. Her portly figure clothed in some sort of animal print blouse. I think it was leopard, but the skin of that graceful animal seemed ill-suited for the form it now covered. She had the face of someone who had been down a lot of roads and seen a lot of things. Now, those same eyes were seeing me.

Her query was a simple one.
"Can I have a cookie?" she asked.

I slowed my cart, and an easy smile crossed my lips. "Another joker looking for a cookie" was the mean thought that flashed through my brain.

Before I could respond, however, she spoke again. Cutting off whatever witty response my brain was about to spill out.

"Never mind" she said. "I know they are for someone special."

Her statement threw me off. I no longer had a witty response. Instead, I resumed my pace and continued on to the North Elevators.

As I spread my wares I continued thinking about what she had said, and how she had said it. There was something matter-of-fact about the way that she said it. It was truly heartbreaking. I believe she had opened a window into her wounded spirit for just a moment, and I had gotten a glimpse of damage wrought by many who had trodden her under foot in this life. When I finished my delivery I went downstairs and back past the lady. This time I gave her a warm smile.

I can't shake the vision of The Woman in Animal Print. My initial reaction to her was to look at her as another casualty of this world. I wrote her off. I gave up on her before I knew anything about her. What's even sadder, is she had given up on herself.

Everyone we meet, everyone that we have already met, has an intrinsic value in God's eyes. Christ died for them individually. Who are we to judge whether they are valuable?

Matthew 13:45,46

Woman in Animal Print you are God's pearl. He has given his only Son for you, and I am sorry that I didn't remember that the first time we met.


- Posted from my iPhone