The Unexpected Compliment

by Kay Heitsch

I walked up to the big white door and knocked. I heard the door unlock, and a large lady with a stern look opened the door. "Are you here to see someone?" she asked. "Hi, my name's Kay; I'm here to see everyone," I answered in a friendly voice. There was an uneasy pause as she looked me over. Then she introduced herself as Bessie* and invited me inside. To tell you the truth, I can't remember how I knew about this Girl's Group Home for troubled girls, but there I was, standing in the doorway.

Once inside, Bessie called to the girls, "Someone is here to see all of you." The girls, all teenagers, gathered in the living room. I introduced myself as Kay, and they told me their first names. I expressed to them that I would like to come over every so often to visit.

I had no idea what I'd do when I was there, but I wanted to reach out to these girls. I started to go over once a week. I'd take Brandon, who was about 4 years old at the time, with me. The girls loved it when Brandon came. They would play with him and twirl him around. Brandon loved going over to see them too.

Once a month, we would go over to the nursing home together. I could see how much the girls enjoyed visiting with these older people. I felt there was a special bond the girls had with them. Everyone accepted each other for who they were.

The girls liked to bake me goodies when I came to visit. I'm not crazy about chocolate. However, the girls loved to bake a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. They would be so excited when I arrived and couldn't wait to show me their latest chocolate treat. Of course, they wanted me to try some. I didn't want to hurt their feelings, so I always took a piece and thanked them.

One day the girl's tutor stopped me when I came to visit and asked to talk to me. I was wondering what this could be about. After we were alone in a room, she said, "The girls came to me and said, 'You know, Ms. Kay is a Christian.' I asked what you had told them to make them think that you were a Christian. They said you hadn't told them anything. Still, they knew you were a Christian because you loved them." I was stunned! I didn't know what to say.

Over the years, I've thought about this conversation with the tutor many times. When I went over to the Group Home, I wasn't going over there to "do" witnessing. However, by loving the girls, I was "being" a witness, not even knowing it with no strings attached. How awesome is that!?

*Name has been changed.