Salt Leaven and Light

God interrupted me today.

Sometimes His requests make no sense to me.

I had just purchased the most beautiful yellow roses to take to a friend. It was to be a surprise.

As I walked to my car, with flowers in hand, I found myself thinking about how the great men and women in history let their light shine during the most trying of times.

Then I thought of the elderly man who stopped to visit with me earlier in the day as I held the door open for him. I thought of the way he enthusiastically responded, “I will!” as he hobbled down the sidewalk with the help of his cane when I said, “Have a nice day!”

I thought about the woman leaving the store just as I was entering, who had her arms full of flowers and a cheery smile on her face. She made eye contact with me when she smiled. That’s what I remember most about her–she made eye contact with me.

“We live in a tumultuous world,” I thought to myself, “but today, I’ve seen only goodness.”

Loading my bags into the car I happened to glance up and see a woman loading groceries into her car. She smiled at me before I looked away.

She smiled at me.

Did she realize the power of her smile? Did she realize how much hope it gives me to see the goodness of so many people? Good people just living their lives the best they can and shining their light through a smile, friendly conversation, momentary eye contact.

“Give the flowers to her,” came the unmistakable impression.

I stopped what I was doing. “Why her?” I questioned. She looked healthy, as far as I could tell. I wondered what trials she might be going through to warrant the need for flowers. Still skeptical, I watched as she returned the shopping cart to the bin and headed to her car.

Finally, relenting to the awkward impression, I nervously made my way to her and said the first thing that came to mind, “Excuse me, you don’t know me, but I’ve been thinking today about how kind people are. I’ve seen so much kindness today, and you just smiled at me. Thank you for that smile.” Handing the flowers to her, I continued, “I bought these flowers for someone else, but I want you to have them as a thank you for being so kind.” Her face lit up and we stood looking at each other for an awkward moment before she said, “Thank you! Thank you so much!”. Then she introduced herself, and gave me a big hug.

To be honest, it was an awkward moment for me. As I said before, sometimes God’s requests make no sense to me. But as I watched Lisa get into her car, a smile still on her face, a smile that has the potential to brighten the lives and bring the greatness out of countless others, I thought to myself, “Perhaps He knows what He’s doing after all.”