I'll take you there (part one)

I saw her walking across the street as I entered the parking lot and debated whether to let her cross in front of me. I was in a hurry to mail a package that should have gone out on Friday, but it was Monday morning and I was still determined to get the package there by Wednesday. I stopped and allowed her to pass in front of my car, even though I knew it would seem endless. Sure enough, she tottered along with her portable shopping cart, which looked like she used it frequently, if not every day. I parked my car and watched as she entered the post office. There were maybe 15 people in line and she was approximately 5 people in front of me, so with several minutes to wait, I looked out the window to see that the rain had stopped, but by the time she got to the front of the line, it had started again. I said to the people behind me, "I wonder if she knows that it's raining again and how far she has to walk home." At the same time that I was speaking to the people behind me, I could hear the Spirit speaking within me. I could not, not listen to Him. "Teresa, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me" were the words He said to me. I made it to the front of the line as though there was no one in front of me. Walking up beside her, I asked "Aren't you walking? I saw you come in. Aren't you walking?" She turned around and looked at me with her, gray, disheveled hair and answered in a gruff voice, "Yes, I'm walking," to which I asked, "Did you know that it's raining? It had stopped, but did you know that it's raining again?" As she looked toward the window, she dropped her head in her hands and turned back around with a heavy sigh. "I want to take you home," I said. "If you'll wait for me, I'll take you home. My car is just around the corner and I'd be glad to take you home." Leaving her package with the postal clerk, she proceeded to leave and I yelled one more time, "Just wait at the door, and as soon as I get finished, I promise I'll take you home. My car is just around the corner to the right and I'll be glad to take you home. Just wait for me at the door." As I knew that all eyes were watching me, as my eyes were watching her, the emotions came....like never before. ... AND... "The rains came down as the prayers went up. The rains came down as the prayers went up. The rains came down as the prayers went up"... and the lady did not want me to take her home. I prayed, "Dear God, please don't let this woman say no to me. I know I can take her home. Just don't let her say no to me." She shuffled back through the door and hollered, "It's only sprinkling. It's not raining anymore. I'm going to walk. It's okay now, I can walk." I yelled back to her, "It's not okay. It's sprinkling. It's still raining! If you'll just wait for me I'll get my car and I'll take you home. Can't you see it's still raining?" Even as I begged, she waved and walked out the door. In some small way, at that very moment, I believe I must have known how Jesus must have felt when he said "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." I must have known how Jesus felt when he offered salvation to the Jews and they rejected Him. I must have known how he felt when Peter denied Him, yet He looked at him and loved him. I must have known how Jesus felt when Judas dipped his hand into the bowl and he knew he would betray Him. I must have known how He felt when Thomas said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." I must have known how he feels when he says "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" and I do not. "Oh, God!" Please let me say, yes, yes, yes to you when I hear YOU say, "I want to take you home... I have a mansion for you just around the corner...it's the one on the right...I promise to take you there... Just watch for me at the door."