A MUST read!

This was taken from www.shieldsofstrength.com blog.

Self looks out for self. Love looks out for others.
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Last week, while on vacation, I was sitting in my car in line waiting to order at a fried chicken restaurant drive through with my wife Tammie. Our two beautiful little girls Faith and Grace were in the back seat. The speaker on the drive through was broken, so I pulled up to the window to order.

At first glance I suspected the clerk was not the customer service award winner. She was looking more like, "What are you doing here?!" than, "May I help you?"

Well, I just pretended everything was great and placed our order.

The lady was so mean throughout the entire order process that when she stepped away from the window Faith sat up in the back seat and said "Daddy, is that lady mean?"

I just said, "I'm not sure, baby, but she is at least acting that way."

When the lady came back to the window, she said to me, "Why didn't you just order the 12-piece? It would have been much easier and saved you money!"

About this time I am thinking I am just about to take a stand. She was being rude to me for no reason and in front of my family. I had tried to be nice, but her attitude had gotten progressively worse. I bit my tongue and just told her, "Hey, if you can get me everything I ordered and save me money with the 12-piece, that would be great!"

I think at this point she finally started feeling guilty for being so rude, especially since I had never barked back at her. While she was away putting our order together, I asked Tammie to grab me a Shield of Strength and a neck chain.

When the lady returned to the window, I just told her the Shield had one of my favorite scriptures on it and I wanted to give it to her.

In that moment she really did not know what to say. She turned around and showed it to another employee and then asked if she could have four, so that all of her co-workers could have one. I gave her three more and her eyes began to tear up. She then said to me, "You have no idea how much I needed this! I have so much going on in my life right now and I don't know what to do."

All the time she was taking my order, she had been staying way back from the window, making it an effort for me to be heard as I gave my order. But, by now, she had her whole head hanging outside the drive-through window telling us how much she appreciated that tag.

After she handed us the food, I told Tammie to get ready, because I was about to pray for this lady. I have never prayed for anyone in a drive though before, but I just knew this lady was begging for prayer, so I asked if she would like me to pray for her.

She leaned all the way out of the drive-through window (shoulders and all) and reached both hands into our car so I could pray with her.

We prayed a very simple but powerful prayer as we agreed that God would bring her wisdom, direction, peace, and strength as His will would be done in her life. As we drove away, I looked back in the side view mirror to see the lady still hanging out of the window watching us drive away with big tears rolling out of both of her eyes.

I shared this story and I will share a few more in the weeks ahead to say this: Nothing on this earth is more powerful than the word of God. That lady did not need a Shield of Strength. I could have torn a piece off of my chicken bag and wrote the same scripture on that piece of torn sack, and the same thing would have happened. She needed to be reminded of Gods word and that His word is true, regardless of our circumstances.

If you want the power of God in your life, then live out of love. Live out of love and the law of love will govern your life. It would have been really easy to think of myself and how I was being treated badly, but I may have well ruined my day and added to the sorrows of the lady working the drive through that day. Instead, we shared a blessing I will never forget, and maybe she won't either. One thing for sure, we were both encouraged in the Lord and felt His presence and love as we prayed together and after I drove away.

I make Shields of Strength for this very reason. For years, I always ran into situations just like this one, but had no way to break the ice and bring God in. I found that when I was wearing my Shield as my personal reminder, I always had one with me and I always ended up giving it away. Today I wear them just to give them away. I keep thirty or so in my truck so I can keep one around my neck at all times. The next time you find yourself in a situation where you have that "Man, I wish I knew what to say or how to put God into this moment and encounter -- His word, His love and covering -- I encourage you to tear off a piece of paper, write down your favorite scripture or one that comes to your heart, and hand it to that person. If you are too uncomfortable, then give it to them as you walk away. Nothing you can ever say will compare to what God has already said. Share it! Share His love, and love will begin to rule your life.

He who has God has love and he who has not God has not love. For God is love.

Kenny Vaughan