Sad Sadie

     I'm not sure what the woman's name was, but I'll call her Sadie because I think she would like that name. My friend Lily and I were just leaving a secondhand dress shop in our little town when Sadie approached us on the street, prepared to chat.

     "How are you-all today?" Sadie asked with a smile, as she came close to us.

     "We're fine," said Lily. "How are you?"

     "Not so good," said Sadie. "I miss New York City. That's where I used to live, and I was a model there. The people in New York thought I was wonderful. Back here nobody believes I was a model. They loved me in New York, and I felt important. Now I'm back here where nobody pays me any attention."

     Sadie was overweight, missing teeth and oddly dressed. It was hard to picture her as a model in Manhattan. I began to wonder about Sadie's mental state.

     Lily said, "Well, why don't you go back to New York?"

     Sadie shook her head. "Oh, I can't. My son is here, and I just can't go."

     Goodhearted Lily asked, "Please can we pray for you to go back?"

     At that, Sadie actually leaped backward and threw her hands up, eyes wide with fear. "No, no, no," she said, waving her arms wildly as if to ward us off, "don't do that. Don't pray for me to go back."

     Startled, Lily said, "Why not?"

     "Because I'm not ready to go. Don't pray!"

     Sadie eventually calmed down and, before we left, said we could pray for her to have a good  life. We offered heartfelt prayers out on the street for this woman who did not feel important in her town.

     Sadie might be surprised to learn that I think of her with respect. She may be slightly delusional or something even worse, but she has an item in her plus column that many people don't:

                                                           Sadie believes in prayer.