What an interesting day this has been. During the past three weeks I had been nowhere other than the grocery store and my kids' homes. I had talked to no one other than family members during that entire time. Well, I take that back. When the store checker-outers asked how my day was going, I am sure I replied, "Great!" When they asked if I needed help out with my groceries, I probably replied, "No thanks. I can get it." Today was different. I talked to people!
I was meeting a friend for coffee, so went into town early to check out some new businesses around the corner from the coffee shop. The floral-gift shop was all I had time for before my scheduled coffee date. During the course of twenty minutes I checked out all the decor and all the gifts. Then I asked just a couple questions about this new location. My innocent question opened up a flood gate of conversation. As I showed genuine interested in the flowers, the arrangements, the business location, and business in general, the proprietor opened up with a lot of enthusiasm and eagerness to share. I had fun listening.
Coffee with my friend was a great time of catching up on our busy, often trying, lives. After a mixture of tears and laughter, we parted ways. My friend headed home and I headed to check out a couple more shops which included a craft shop and an antique mart. As with the floral shop, I spent quite a bit of time looking at everything there was to see. Before leaving each store, I ended up asking questions and listening to excitement-filled answers. I really felt that people were eager to talk and share about what they love the most, their businesses .
Two hours after my friend and I had left the coffee shop, I finally returned to my car. Not only was I full of new knowledge about the antique market in our area, I was also quite inspired and encouraged to start experimenting with water colors again. Feeling great from interacting with the complete strangers God placed in my path today was an added bonus.
As I drove home, I remembered a TV movie I watched several years ago on a Christian network. In it, a teenage girl sitting in a coffee shop meets a bearded young man dressed in blue jeans and sandals. During the course of an enjoyable conversation, he asks her about a specific class in school. The girl is surprised that he even knew about her class. As you can probably guess, the young man is the Christ figure in the story. As the movie progresses, the girl continues meeting with the bearded man and begins sharing her troubles with him. She also begins to fully understand who he is. At one point, she starts telling him something humorous that happened at school then abruptly stops and says something like this, "Oh, I'm sorry. You already know all about it." Jesus smiles and says, "Yes I know about it, but I love the sound of your voice and the way you talk about it. I love hearing everything you have to say about what you do and how you feel."
The movie impacted me at the time because it made me realize how much God desires to hear my voice. He want to hear my heartbreak and tears as well as my joys and excitements. He just loves listening to my voice. Wow.
Then came today when complete strangers shared all sorts of stories with me. Was it because I wanted to listen? I don't know. But I do know this. God wants to listen to me. He is interested in every aspect of my life even when he already knows all about it. I truly believe he loves the sound of my voice and wants to listen to me talk about my day.
I think I need to be more like the shopkeepers I met today--eager to share what I love. In a way, this blog helps me do that. I find that writing helps me recognize God's ever-present hand in my life. My voice is only on paper, though, and that is okay. But how about this? Maybe I should try singing my posts. I'm pretty sure God likes music. Well, I think I should at least try talking to him aloud.
Hi, God, I had so much fun today. Let me tell you about it. There was this guy in the craft store... And my friend...
Jan.
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