I had to use the ladies room. So, I get up from the dinner table & make my way over to the bathroom only to wait my turn (small town restaurant with only one ladies bathroom). While waiting I look around. A crowded place I notice. Loved by the locals. Then my eyes were drawn to a table with three young women ordering their supper. These girls are just radiant. The waitress walks away & I continue to watch. I see smiles being shared, hair lightly being flipped from side to side, small head tilts here & there, concentration in the eyes for the one they were listening to speak, really enjoying one anothers company as well as the sweet tea & water they were sipping on. And laughs-not huge ones, but subtle– each with their own particular laugh. Peace is evident. How is it that no one sees what I see, here in this restaurant?
The door opens. A mom with two small kids comes out & now I know why it took so long. After my trip to the ladies room, I came back to my dinner table, a little different, almost forgetting the good moment I had while waiting for the bathroom. A part of me was a little sad though because I just hate it when a good moment like that just passes by. A few seconds of a most intriguing picture & then back to reality, the bathroom is free!
I’m not gonna lie 😉 that little glimpse meant something to me. It may not for you, but it did for me. In that moment, I not only observed those young girls, but I caught sight of God. You see, my dinner table was that table. Those young women are three of the most important people to me. My best friends Elyse, Bekah, & Niffer (the latter two, being my old roomies).
And as I watched them while I waited, God brought things to my mind. Things like, “How is it you ordained us, specifically these three girls, to be in my life & for me to be in theirs?” And the greatest thing I saw was love. I thought I knew what love was but as I look back, I can see many times in my life where I have loved selfishly. Which isnot really love at all…but I can’t explain it any other way. God brought the definition of love in 1 Cor. 13 to my mind.
Love is Patient. Love is patient [longsuffering]. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast [vaunteth not itself], it is not proud [is not conceited/puffed up]. It is not rude [does not behave unseemly], it is not self-seeking [is not selfish], it is not easily angered [is not easily provoked/does not get irritated], it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil [does not entertain unkind thoughts of another] but rejoices with the truth. It always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
And as cliché as it sounds, I looked at them all & knew that is the kind of love I have for them. God allowed me to experience His love & I love that!
So may you take the time to stop & watch those God has put in your life & just…
…really watch them.
