journey onWord with us

My husband is still traumatized; it happened one day last week.  The phone call to our daughter started innocently enough, but it suddenly took a turn that Mike simply did not see coming.  (Don’t worry … I am being overly dramatic.)  Our daughter expressed her concern to Dad that the “check engine” light had come on in her rental car; what should she do?  Mike told her to call the rental company for further instructions and to not drive the car any further until she did that.  Then it happened (cue the suspense track) … “What does Mom say?” our daughter asked.  Mike replied that it didn’t really matter what Mom would say, because he just told her the proper course of action.  “Well,” she replied, “Mom is more mechanical than you!”  Poor guy was speechless.

Now, it is true that I have fixed the hot water heater at home … and the garbage disposal … and the DVD player … and, well, I guess we can see why our daughter arrived at that conclusion.  But isn’t it funny how we view each other and draw conclusions that could be completely false?

Have you ever had an encounter with a rude or nasty store clerk?  Maybe they just heard bad news about a loved one’s health.  What about the customer service rep on the other end of the phone?  I deal with one such person every week, and I have taken to calling him (not in a complimentary way), “Mr. Congeniality.”  How unfair could that be of me?!  For all I know, he is in constant pain, or has a sick child at home, or is going through a divorce.  What about that person at work who is always wearing a smile?  “They’re so lucky, they don’t have a care in this world.  Perfect family, perfect life.”  Perhaps that smile is just a defense mechanism for all the hurt she/he carries each day.

So how do we think people view us?  How many times have we been wrong in our view of others?  Let me give you one example Mike read several months back:  A young father was struggling greatly with his 2 unruly kids on the subway in New York City.  The kids were loud and rowdy, and just would not sit down and ride politely.  The father was at his wit’s end.  The disapproving looks of the other passengers were not lost on him, either … especially from the man sitting in the next seat.  It was evident he was thoroughly disgusted by this father who could not control his kids.  It was such a bad situation, the father finally leaned over to the upset passenger and confided, “I am so sorry about my kids … but my wife just died and we are all just really upset.”

And that is my point.  We don’t know what others are going through.  What if, through our actions or kind word or gestures, they could see Christ in us and be touched?  Let me give you one more example that a woman in my Sunday school class shared with me.  She had a terrible fall with broken bones.  She has been in terrible pain and is enduring many sleepless nights.  The television has been her best friend in those lonely hours, and the night that the cable went out she was more than ticked off.  But the tables were turned on her when she perceived something in the voice of the support technician on the other end of the line.  One thing led to another and my friend ended up talking to, and encouraging, this woman at the cable company for 45 minutes in the middle of the night.  Her pain was forgotten as she opened herself to God’s leading – He used her greatly that night.

So, my challenge to myself (and to you) is to try to look beyond the curt voice on the other end of the phone, or the scowling face at the counter.  We can show Christ in a genuine smile, a ‘thank you,’ or a ‘take care, now’ comment.  I read something a couple of years ago (I don’t recall where) that challenged me to ‘make someone’s day.’ Christ wants to use us all day long in every store, office, gas station, and fast food place we go.

Let’s ask God to help us make someone’s day today!

…and I am actually a little more mechanical than Mike!