Two weeks ago, on Sunday morning, my husband, Greg Mead and I got to church early enough to get coffee.
He gets in line for our americanos and I go to the bathroom.

No big deal, right?

Well, as I’m walking down the hall- smack dab in the middle of the building, far from the walls- my legs start shaking.

My balance teeters. I try to steady myself and then-suddenly- I feel this man’s hands on my back.

I knew it wasn’t Greg because I could see him in the line, talking to the barista.

I gasped a little and turn to see this guy in a straw cowboy hat, black t shirt, faded jeans and boots.

“ I got ya, ma’am, I got ya!”

He saw me and he reacted. He didn’t wait for me to fall, he didn’t wait to see if anyone else stepped up first, he didn’t wonder about being “ proper” or “ safe” or any of those things that keep so many people holding back instead of holding on.

He just stepped up, stepped in, and placed his hand on me- like a good man does.

I told him that my leg was giving out and he said, “Yeah, I saw that, I saw you,” and then he offered his arm to me.

I slipped my hand in and immediately felt steady, strong and safe again.

I pointed out where my husband was and he walked me over to the pillar so I could hold on to it while waiting.

A quick hug and he was gone, just like he showed up- out of the blue.

I stood there at Lakepointe Church – Rockwall Campus feeling a little bit self-conscious because of my knee injury and trying not to draw any more attention to myself.

I leaned against the pillar, watching Greg and thinking those Americano’s are sure taking their sweet time.

Then another guy comes over, holds out his arm and asks me if I want any help.

I insist I’m okay but I sure did appreciate his concern.

Just then, Greg finally walks over with the Americanos and I hold on to his arm.

When he’s got me, I’m almost “ normal” and my walk is not as noticeable, not so unsteady and sometimes I even feel like we look like any other couple that just happens to walk arm-in-arm, or hand-in-hand.

But, that’s just it- i am not quite the woman I used to be and sometimes it really does make me self conscious and makes me want to blend in with the crowd a little more.

But then I put on a bright yellow shirt knowing full well there’s nothing neutral about what I’ve got on….. because that’s another part of who I am.

I don’t want strange guys to feel like they have to step in and watch out for me but then, God was using those strangers to show me something really important.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7 CSB

When that guy in the cowboy hat said ,” I got ya,” I heard God telling me the same exact thing, when I felt that guys hand on my back, it reminded me that God’s hand is always with me.

When the other guy walked over to me, it was a sign that God walks before me, beside me abs behind me.

I know full well, in my heart of hearts, that He placed these people in my path for good reasons.

He sees their hearts and He sees mine. He makes all things work together for my good and His glory.

So this past Sunday, we do the same thing again- get to church early enough to go to the coffee shop.

Then God pulls one of his little surprises on me, again.

I felt hands on my back again and I turn to see an old friend smiling at me.

Wendy Ray and I go way back and she’s one of the few people that I can sign with.
She walks the line, too, between the hearing and deaf worlds because we both married hearing men, and our hearing loss is only a portion of who we are but it doesn’t define us.

It just makes life a little more challenging, a bit more adventuresome, and sometimes just a bit more noticeable.

We stood there, talking and signing, catching up and I felt God’s presence right there with us, reminding me that He’s got me and He’s placing people in my very path just when I need that reminder.

Then Greg leads me into the sanctuary with our precious Americano’s in hand and just as I’m about to sit down, I feel another hand on my back.

This time, it’s my Susan Gamez Balderas- one of my first massage mentors and friend of almost 20 years now.

I felt tears swell up because I know God was working overtime to show me His goodness and grace.

You see, this injury to my leg, this unsteadiness, all of this, didn’t just cones out of the blue, it’s from Covid- it’s a long Covid battle that God is healing me from as I trust Him, more and more.

And Susan….. she came to Kateley Lyons house that day in August, half carried me outside to her massage table and worked on my body with magnets and intuitive and pure love, trying her best to heal me during a time that I was at my weakness and most vulnerable.

That’s when the row started filling up, my Soldier, Geoffrey Lyons , my daughter, and grand kids squeezed in next to me and Greg.

It’s like this- God knows every detail, He knows what I needed, He knows who to place in my path, which hands I need to feel on my back and when I need to hear His words, loud and clear,
“ I got ya,Jeanna’, I got you, hold on to Me!”

writingmyheartout,#myownwords,#jeannasoul,#GodDome,