I was returning a weed trimmer to our local Wal-Mart because it was broken. Upon entering the store, I walked through the striped area of the parking lot marked for pedestrian crossing. The white stripes and big yellow signs instruct drivers to stop and yield to pedestrians.
An elderly lady driving a late-model Cadillac was speeding through the main lane of the retail parking lot. She was moving at a higher-than-normal rate of speed, and upon entering the white markings of the pavement, she refused to slow down. Never eased off anything. There was a family walking behind me, and I decided to step toward her car with my hands out (as best I could) and instruct her to please slow down and stop.
She did not. In fact, she wheeled it into a handicapped parking space perpendicular to the store and slammed on her brakes without ever breaking her speed, likely in excess of 20-25 miles per hour.
I walked away and into the store, making no further comment except to the family next to me, expressing "wow" as I cruised into the shopping center.
About three minutes later, I am standing in the rear of the customer service line and I see the same lady, wearing bright pink from head to toe, going full throttle with a shopping cart on a mission. She's looking for me. She looks left, sees me standing in line, and makes a deliberate fast walk with her cart toward customer service. I have about 30 seconds to prepare for the impending argument before she starts yelling. I never make eye contact, seeing her out of peripheral vision.
"You can shut your mouth is what you can do," she said. "You're a little young smart a--, that's what you are, a little young smart a--."
Without raising my voice, I said "Ma'am, I did not have my children with me, but others do. That area is marked for you to stop for a reason. You were driving way too fast and all I asked you to do was slow down and stop."
She yelled there was no stopping there, that she was entitled to park in that space whenever she wanted because she was "handicapped" and again called me a vulgar name at the top of her voice.
At this point, all I could think of was the many times in the past I would have enjoyed a loud argument here. I thought of my shirt, representing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the words "unashamed." I saw the people around me, none of which I knew, until I noticed the attention of Vashon, my favorite clerk at Wal-Mart who routinely checks my family in the cashier line. She was working customer service about 20 feet away. Vashon always refers to me as "pastor" and has become a family friend. Later, she treated me no differently upon checkout.
The lady continued to yell and cuss. I had my back turned and politely asked her to stop, and go away. She would not back down. Even the lady behind me in the line was fed up with her and came to my defense. She later defended my actions to a Wal-Mart manager who came to the customer service area.
At this point, I said to her "ma'am, I just asked you to slow down and stop. Now let it go."
She yelled again.
"Ma'am, if you run into a child in this parking lot, calling me names is the least of your problems."
She yelled again.
Without turning around, I said "Ma'am, I'm done. Please go on."
I repeated this phrase three times until she angrily slung her cart into a check out aisle and walked away.
It's therapeutic for me to share this story, but it has bothered me much today to know that others may have seen the incident from the inside only, and not known why she was upset at me in the first place. Perhaps I came across rude, or insensitive, but to anyone who viewed the entire incident, I would hope I was patient and did my best to offset her anger and let her show the bad example.
Jesus said turn the other cheek. And that's hard enough by itself. To do so with our mouth closed is even tougher.
It's a reminder - our words can get us into trouble, even when we are innocent. Taking chances to do the right thing might result in angering others who do not feel their actions are in the wrong.
I would have gladly taken that car to my legs to keep someone else's children from being hit. Thankfully, that did not happen.
But being called a smart a-- did, and being a pastor does not alleviate me from the temptation to argue back with the most insensitive person I have met today. To her account of the story, I'm sure I have not been painted in the most positive light.
When I lay my head down to sleep tonight, I have to know I did the right thing, and I hope Jesus is pleased that I represented what's in my heart even better than what's on my shirt.
And if by chance you're the woman that made a scene reading this, it's not wrong for me to tell you to slow down before you kill someone.
Your handicap sticker may give you the rights to that space, but it doesn't give you the right to break the law. So in the name of Jesus, slow down.
And watch your mouth.
I just have to be sure to watch mine.
I love you all and these are my thoughts. I hope you have better encounters today.
Pastor K
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