Sometimes the simplest of things trigger a real insight for me. Its not so much one of those things that is hard to understand or fathom. Its not a revelation which is so deep and profound. Its not even something others haven’t thought of. Sometimes though, I’m triggered to reflect on an occurrence which provokes me to give real attention to my words and actions.
I need to replace the carpet in my guest room, there was a little mishap in there from a guest who stayed with me. I went to one of those big box home improvement stores for this fix. I thought it was a perfect solution, quick and easy. Suffice to say, it was anything but quick and easy. The process became quite convoluted and elongated, more than seemed necessary. After church on Sunday, I decided to stop at the store to finalize and pay for this little project. It was hot outside and I was exhausted and feeling a little sleepy after having had lunch, but I thought I could deviate a little and take care of this one little errand. Get it done, and then I could have the afternoon to relax and rest.
My little detour wound up being about an hour and a half ordeal. First, no store personnel were in the flooring section. I had to push a button and then wait for a time before someone showed up to help. They typed in all sorts of stuff on their computer, but somehow couldn’t get my order to appear. I had to wait while they consulted with someone else more knowledgeable. That person gave them some ideas to try, none of that worked. They then said the person was on lunch but would be right with me. So I waited. I finally found a stack of flooring and plopped myself down on it. After what seemed like an eternity, this person appeared and was able to retrieve my order. We had to make some corrections because of errors, we had to sign contracts, then we finally got to the checkout process. I was tired. I was hot. I was frustrated. I was aggravated. Surprisingly though, I just let my patient side rise up in me and didn’t allow myself to get angry, or snarky, or demanding. Not patting myself on the back, or anything, but I surprised even myself. When I was finally handed my receipt, the person helping me thanked me profusely for my patience.
This is where my reflective wheels began turning, and turning in overtime.
What did it cost me to be patient and pleasant? If I had let my grouchiness, my frustration, my exhaustion, come to the surface, I know I would have been angry and out of sorts the rest of the day. Instead, I marveled at how cool and calm I remained.
How many people do we interact with on a daily basis? Any guesses? For me, I would guess, on average, I interact with at least 10 different people througout my day. That’s 10 lives I intersect and have the opportunity to show the face of Christ to. In other words, there are 10 opportunities to share the love of Jesus each day for me. I’m not talking about quoting scripture to. I’m not talking about challenging their beliefs, or non-belief. I’m not talking about the overt process of converting them to become a Christian. I’m simply saying, 10 opportunities to be kind, to show compassion and grace. In this day and time, that’s probably not as readily shown as we might think. Its probably more of a rarity than we know. This is why people thank us for our patience when they experience it. They are well aware of the multitude of times people are not kind, not patient, not loving.
I can only imagine the young woman who took care of me at the store has encounters with hundreds of customers every working day. I wonder how my deciding to simply be patient and kind affected her day? I wonder if in turn, how many persons she interacted with came away feeling as if they were the recipient of kindness and grace? Of those she interacted with, who of them would be struck so by her demeanor, that their day was better for it?
I want to do better in the way I interact with others. I want them to come away feeling better because of our encounter. If just one person a day feels they have experienced love, and kindness, and grace, how many lives will be affected? May God move me to be more intentional about how I impact the lives of those around me.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom