Sticker Lady

There is a lady at our Walmart who greets me at the door. (Disclaimer: the picture is not of this lady. I stole it from google images!) I am guessing she is about 80 years old and her sole job appears to be to stand at the front entrance, ready with a large roll of stickers in hand to give to the children. Almost every time I enter Walmart, she is there, sticker in hand, ready to ask Lucy if she wants a sticker.

One of the first times I entered with Lucy, she was a bit nervous about the elderly lady in the blue vest. The look of, "Mamma, who is this woman coming at me with a yellow circle thing" took over Lucy's face and eyes. I assured Lucy the woman was fine, but Lucy wasn't buying it. Tears ensued and needless to say the woman was stopped cold before ever getting the sticker on Lucy's bib.

Well, since that day, there have been numerous trips to Walmart. Too many to count really. And..Lucy has slowly gained a fondness of the lady. She now looks up at her and actually appears to straighten up a bit, readying herself for the sticker placing on her bib.

But you see, I have actually become a bit cold to the sticker lady. I tend to have a mindset of "get in and get out" when it comes to Walmart. Now, the mindset never really works because I always end up lost in the candy aisle, or the hair product aisle, or the rows of potatoe chips and Doritos. But I do at least try to enter with the "hurry in, hurry out" mindset.

So you see...sticker lady...is a nuisance. She takes up time. She stops us and moves slowly over to give us the sticker, that eventually falls to the ground or ends up covered in drool and has to be removed by me...drool and all. So, while Lucy is loving the sticker lady...I am dreading her as we enter.

Tonight I must admit I even tried to dodge the sticker lady. I thought, "Ok, I will put Lucy in and make a bee line for the 95 oz tub of goldfish I see to the left of me." Yes...that is what I will do. And, while I may spend an additional $5.98 I will not be slowed down by the sticker!

It didn't work. She found us. Right there by the Goldfish boxes.

But then it hit me. Right between the eyes as God usually does!  Tonight as we sat at the supper table, Doug noticed Lucy's sticker. "OH...Lucy...did you get a sticker?" And Lucy's eyes lit up! "Well, yes Daddy, I went to Walmart with Mommy and of course the sticker lady gave me a sticker." Ok..she would have said that if she could say that!

And as I saw the smile in my daughter's face, I thought to myself...

YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!

I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!

I see her at least three times a week. I let her touch my child. She offers me nothing but a smile. And, she probably wears a name tag...

BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!

I am too busy. Too stressed. Too hurried to even bother.

What blessing am I missing? 
I will find out...this week...I will find out her name. I will find out her story. I will find out what blessing might be waiting to greet me at the Walmart doors!!!!

To be continued....