Listen

Here, Mary.” I was loaded down with packages, large and small. “Can you balance your coat box while I fish for my car keys?”
We were just completing a shopping expedition for Mary, the oldest member of our church. Although she was more than 90, Mary was spry and spunky, had her hair fixed every week, wore lipstick, and loved to shop! Today had been spent getting her a new winter coat, a pretty lacy sweater, and a number of other things which struck her fancy.
Never one to mince words, Mary hung on to her coat box and muttered, “Well hurry up, honey. I’m plumb wore out from all this shopping.”
I struggled to get a better grip on the packages in my arms. “There’s not much light here in the small parking lot, but I’ll find them in a minute,” I said. Only I wasn’t finding them. I’d looked in every pocket of my purse. No car keys. Now what?
For several years now, I had made Mary’s well-being my responsibility. Taking her shopping was no small task and I was bone-weary. She had outlived all her children but one daughter who lived in another state. Mary had very little in the way of worldly goods and knew how to make every penny count. She had saved for this excursion and I felt rewarded for being able to help her once again.
Still, it wasn’t going to be easy to get her and her packages back in the store so she could sit down while I went searching for the keys.
“I must have dropped them out of my purse in one of the stores,” I thought.
I left a grumbling Mary surrounded by packages, but seated comfortably. I reminded myself that under her crusty exterior was a heart of gold. I tried to concentrate and remember every place we had been.
“It’s a big mall. No wonder Mary is worn out. I’m half her age and I’m beat!”
I plodded on and on, stopping at every place we’d been shopping, but the answer was always the same. “No, not here.”
“Could I have left them in the ignition,” I wondered aloud. I’d never done that before, but I decided to check. I started back to my car and stopped dead in my tracks. I had been asking everyone but the only One who could help me find my keys. I found a quiet spot and asked my heavenly Father to guide my footsteps and lead me to my car keys. I went swiftly to my car and following my hunch, looked in the ignition. No keys. But I realized He hadn’t sent me to look in the ignition. That was my idea.
“Where do I look, Lord?” I bowed my head and as I said it, caught a gleam of something on the floor of my car, lying right next to the door. In the dim light, I looked more closely. It had to be my car keys! I hurried back into the building where Mary was sitting, looking around anxiously.
“Don’t worry,” I told her, “We’ll be heading home soon.”
Without hesitation, I went to the ladies’ department and asked for a wire dress hanger. I didn’t know how to proceed from there, but I had perfect faith that I would know what to do next.
As I rushed along, I heard a cheerful voice saying, “Hey, Mrs. Harvey! What’s your hurry?”
It was Eddie, one of my former students, with his mother and brother. I told them my problem and sheepishly handed Eddie the hanger. Eddie grinned at me impishly, saying, “Let’s go to your car. I’ll have the problem solved in no time.”
We stopped by for Mary. This time, there was plenty of help to carry Mary’s bulky coat box and the smaller packages. Eddie’s prediction was right. He knew how to use that wire hanger to unlock my car. As we headed home, I gave silent thanks, remembering what I’d always known… When you ask for something, take time to listen for the answer.