That Time the Gospel Showed Up in a Dressing Room

It was right there, with fluorescent lights shining and half a dozen tops hanging on the rack, that I froze in a department store dressing room. Over the Christmas music playing through the speakers, I could hear two voices in the room to my left. A niece and an aunt? A daughter and her mother? A teenager and her grandmother? I’ll never know, but I hope I never forget what the older woman firmly—and yet kindly—said.

“Now, remember, this is a gift. All you have to do is receive it.”

Tears prick m...