Her name was Mary. She was soft spoken, with a cute southern accent. Her appearance didn't really stand out, just typically ordinary. Oh, but looks can be so deceiving! I came to see that Mary was extraordinary, to say the least. Because, before Mary even knew my name, she approached me outside of the the church entrance we had recently started to attend, said hello, hugged me, and began whispering things into my ear about me, even my childhood... that I've never told a living soul. The things she said were true- every last one of them. She saw how badly she frightened me, and stepped away. How could this very odd woman, a complete stranger, possibly know all those things about me... what was going on??? I couldn't concentrate on the church service that morning. In fact, I couldn't wait for the service to end... Well, some time passed, but I kept thinking about that strange exchange between us on the day I first saw her. Mary and I didn't introduce ourselves until I decided it was time to allow my two year old daughter to attend Sunday School class. As it turned out, Mary was her age group's teacher. We exchanged phone numbers that morning, and she called me several days later. The conversation started with small talk. As the conversation continued, she opened up about her life before she gave her heart to God. She was brutally honest as she spoke about her past mistakes, as if she were giving me confession. I thanked her for her honesty, and promised I wouldn't share what she confided in me with anyone. She said, " Honey, we all have a past, and we've all made mistakes." Then she went on to mention that first odd exchange we had. She said, "God shows me things like He shows you in your dreams and those feelings you get. That's how I knew those things about you. It used to scare me too, like it still scares you, Kathy. You're special like me." I shut the conversation down immediately. She scared me... again. Really bad. I didn't want to be "special" like Mary! But, by the following Sunday, our phone conversation had totally sunk in. I wasn't afraid anymore! I hugged, and thanked Mary before church service began that Sunday morning. Because, the call that God led her to make to me explained everything that I had been wrestling with my entire life. The dreams and feelings have been with me since I was a tiny girl... in fact, not a time in my life can I remember being "normal". A lifetime of thoughts of "Why do I dream things before they happen, or dream things that have already happened, but I wasn't there to actually witness? And why do I just "KNOW', without a doubt, certain things?" I had ALWAYS worried, "Am I insane? Am I possessed?" No, I'm not. I'm just special like Mary, whether I want to be or not. Funny thing is, years later, I became a Sunday School teacher for the 2 to 4 year age group, just like Mary did... and, I told someone that they're special like me very recently, just like Mary told me. It's so funny how things work out, isn't it...
