The Little Moments
The next paragraph contains a thought that has been with me for a while now; actually since I left Germany. I think it must be an important one, because it's something God reiterated today.
Every contact we have with another person, regardless of who that person is, needs to be made with love.
When we were leaving Garmisch, I made a phone call to get a driver to take us to the airport. The individual I got on the line wasn't speaking English as well as I would have liked. I was a little stressed at the time with the move, so I was trying not to let it show. The man was supposed to call back later that day at a certain time. We were no longer in military quarters, so I had to be sure to be there when he called, which meant a special trip (I know I should have had a cell phone, but I didn't...and the cabins had no phones). Well, he didn't call back, and I had to track him down, so again, I was a little frustrated. I tried to keep it out of my voice, but I don't know how well I did.
He came to pick us up the next day, and surprise...it was someone I kind of knew. He had driven our van to a women's retreat earlier in the fall. One of my dearest friends (you know who you are, Alex) shared her faith with this man almost the entire 8 hour trip back. When I realized who it was, I was thankful that I hadn't been nasty to him on the phone and I was sorry that I hadn't been kinder. I could have single handedly destroyed any positive impact Alex had had on his life. Then I thanked God for the object lesson.
This morning I ran a few errands. Sometimes I am very conscious of how I treat cashiers, waitresses and such. I think they often see the worst in humanity and I don't want to profane the God who calls me His own. I was at Target, and someone asked if they could help me. I started to reply, "No, I'm just looking," in a fairly impersonal way. But at the last minute, I turned to make eye contact with her and smile. It was a woman who goes to the church here, sporadically. She said to me, "Aren't you Mona's daughter?" She has seen me only at church. Again, I had the power to chip away at any of the good that has been done in her life by Christians here. What a humbling thought.
Those little unimportant moments matter.
By the way, Cheryl, I did my "homework" for Friday morning Bible study. I invited Venus, right there in Target.
Every contact we have with another person, regardless of who that person is, needs to be made with love.
When we were leaving Garmisch, I made a phone call to get a driver to take us to the airport. The individual I got on the line wasn't speaking English as well as I would have liked. I was a little stressed at the time with the move, so I was trying not to let it show. The man was supposed to call back later that day at a certain time. We were no longer in military quarters, so I had to be sure to be there when he called, which meant a special trip (I know I should have had a cell phone, but I didn't...and the cabins had no phones). Well, he didn't call back, and I had to track him down, so again, I was a little frustrated. I tried to keep it out of my voice, but I don't know how well I did.
He came to pick us up the next day, and surprise...it was someone I kind of knew. He had driven our van to a women's retreat earlier in the fall. One of my dearest friends (you know who you are, Alex) shared her faith with this man almost the entire 8 hour trip back. When I realized who it was, I was thankful that I hadn't been nasty to him on the phone and I was sorry that I hadn't been kinder. I could have single handedly destroyed any positive impact Alex had had on his life. Then I thanked God for the object lesson.
This morning I ran a few errands. Sometimes I am very conscious of how I treat cashiers, waitresses and such. I think they often see the worst in humanity and I don't want to profane the God who calls me His own. I was at Target, and someone asked if they could help me. I started to reply, "No, I'm just looking," in a fairly impersonal way. But at the last minute, I turned to make eye contact with her and smile. It was a woman who goes to the church here, sporadically. She said to me, "Aren't you Mona's daughter?" She has seen me only at church. Again, I had the power to chip away at any of the good that has been done in her life by Christians here. What a humbling thought.
Those little unimportant moments matter.
By the way, Cheryl, I did my "homework" for Friday morning Bible study. I invited Venus, right there in Target.
posted by Kaye @ 3:28 PM
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