Choose to Obey

“God Gives His promises to Those Who Choose to Obey”

By Sister Cheryl Blanton

Brandy Lascoe is a member of the Blue Springs Branch. She loves the Lord in a way more of us should. She starts her days early, rising to pray and study scripture before starting her day. She has owned a boutique in Blue Springs, MO for ten years. You will find touches of the Lord in it. She has put God at the front of this business and she has been quite successful in doing so. Her competition has fallen by the wayside and her business still stands strong. This is her personal testimony

Working at the shop that day, the front door opened and I looked up to see two men coming through it. I greeted them as I do all my customers.  A man in my boutique is not normal unless it’s Christmas time.  One was a slim man, about 7 feet tall, and the other shorter but very stocky.  As they came through the door, I saw a car pull up out front with a woman driving.  She and I made eye contact, but I did not motion to her.  She hesitated, and then got out of her car and came into the shop. 

The two men headed to one side of the store and I followed them to see if I could assist them.  They were speaking to each other in a language I could not understand.  The tall man started grabbing clothes off the shelf, taking a stack of ladies jeans all the same size.  Again, I made eye contact with the woman.  I could tell she was suspicious and concerned. My look to her said, “Please, don’t leave me alone.  Help me.” 

She blurted out to the men, “Shopping for Valentine’s Day?” but neither man responded.  I lifted the stack of jeans out of the tall man’s hand and said I would take them to the register for him.  At the same time, the stockier man grabbed four dresses.  They followed me to the register and I rang up all they had gathered.  It totaled $450.  I asked if they were paying cash or charge and the stocky man handed me a strange looking credit card with no imprint on the front of it.  I asked him if it was a debit or credit card and he said it was a Walmart prepaid card.  My heart was pounding as I did not know how I was going to handle this but I knew I wasn’t going to take this card.  I was praying, while ringing them up, asking God to help me to know what to do. 

I swiped the card and immediately said, “Oops, my machine doesn’t like your Walmart card.”  He took the card and turned without saying a word. They both went to their car parked in front of Starbucks and left.  I don’t know which state the license plate was from but it was not local.  The woman walked to the door with me and asked me if I could lock the front door.  Then she told me her story.

She said she was just passing through town and had stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and then was heading to Cape Girardeau.  She got her coffee, saw my sign for my boutique, and then headed off to run an errand before she got on the highway.  After running the errand, something prompted her to return to my shop.  She tried to dismiss it, but the feeling was very strong, so she headed back my way.  When she was pulling up in front of the shop, she noticed two men going through the door, coming inside.  She hesitated for a second and the thought ran through her mind that maybe it was some form of ethnic boutique. 

She saw me through the window and we made eye contact, each holding the look for a few seconds.  She got out of her car and entered.  She kept watching me making eye contact with her while still keeping an eye on the men.    She told me that she thought the shorter man possibly had a gun in his hoodie pocket as there was something oddly shaped in there.  I noticed it too, but the thought of a gun never crossed my mind.  She said she could see that there was a large stack of cash in there as well.  I told her that I had been praying while I was ringing them up back at the register that she was the answer to my prayer.  She then told me she is not a “religious” person and I told her that I was. 

We talked while she shopped and I helped her pick out outfits.  She spent $250.  I hugged her, got her email address, and she went on her journey.  After thanking the Lord and letting what had just happened sink in, I sent her an email, thanking her so much for being a good person and not leaving me alone in that situation. I told her I am forever grateful for her kindness.  

God surely had His hand on the entire situation.  If the men were not up to no good, then why did God have her come back and come into my shop?  Had I been alone, I believe I could have been robbed, not only from my cash register but my merchandise also.  Praise God.  I give Him all the Glory!