Granny Mae

The bike rolled slowly along covering every corner of the parking lot pushed by an elderly lady who had to be in his 80s. Early every morning she is seen picking up change, every dime, nickel, and penny people drop to and from the grocery store and other establishments in the mall. Why? Is she propelled by hunger, greed, boredom? Logical conclusions but the answer is a resounding NO. She collects change to roll and deposit in the bank eventually sending it to her daughter who is a missionary in Africa. From a distance I watched her one day while exercising at Curves and after inquiring about her I learned the details I just shared. Now, I wanted very much to actually talk to her myself so that became one of my prayer items each day. "Lord, if You will, please help me have an opportunity to talk with the 'bicycle lady' ". Know for sure that He always answers, sometimes in surprising ways!
Two days after I made this specific request I came face to face with the 'bicycle lady' as I came out of the grocery story. I quickly introduced myself and we began a delightful conversation. She said people call her Granny Mae and yes, indeed, she was picking up dropped change for her daughter. Various people now and then donate to her cause, so added to her change she is able to send $400 a month to the mission field!!
I was humbled as I listened to her impassioned story and felt the love she had for missionaries. It was a privilege to share my sister's story of mission work in Tanzania and to add a little bit to her mission 'project'. Driving away from Granny Mae I asked myself the question: What would I be willing to do to raise money for missionaries? I need to spend some serious time thinking about my answer and then putting the answer into action!