We were asked to write an essay called “This I Believe” about what really matters to us, as preparation for this world missions adventure called the World Race. This is what I believe…
I was sitting there minding my own business, reading my
Bible, journaling, and trying to radiate what appeared to be holiness. I have come to realize that coffee shops are
probably the worst place to try to create an image of yourself that you’re
not. The people that hang out at these
places are so real and broken that they can see past the masks. And sometimes I think they grasp parts of
living that are still foreign to me – that I’m still trying to understand
myself.
There’s this guy that frequents the coffee shop I
constantly choose to perch myself ‘righteously’ inside. He looks rather poor and less fortunate than
myself. He is also very eccentric and
has an animated personality. This man
always carries his guitar around and when he sits at the community computer to
get on the internet, he hunches over the keyboard in a way that’s almost like
he’s guarding it, like someone’s going to snatch the only possession he has
away from him. I usually just stare at
him and judge – but only when I’m feeling righteous.
It was interesting to watch him today though. He walked in, set his stuff down, and went
up to the counter to order what I assumed would inevitably be ‘just a
coffee’. Then the unexpected
happened. The two baristas working
said, “Morning! We have a surprise for
you today.”
“Oh?” he inquired.
“Yep. Here you go,
enjoy!” They handed him one of the
coffee shops’ fanciest mugs brimming full of coffee, but with just enough room
that he could doctor it up – apparently he doesn’t like it black. The girls showed him how it worked, what all
the fancy caps were for and such. He
couldn’t contain himself. This guy was
so excited!
The horrible thing?
I didn’t expect this from these two girls. I would have expected Norah Jones to sing me to sleep before
these girls just gave something away.
They’re very gossipy. They talk
about customers – about things they don’t like. They’ve never indicated to me that they love Jesus.
But they blind-sided this guy with grace.
Not only did they blind-side him, they knocked me off my
feet. Those two girls gave that guy
something he didn’t deserve. They
showed him love when he had never shown it to them. Why would they do that?
Because they’ve received the same love before from someone else – and
they wanted to share it with him.
It made me realize the good that resides in us all
regardless of who we are. It made me
realize what I’m capable of and the grace and love that is so much larger than
what I can imagine. It transcends even
my most selfish motives and thoughts – my self-ascribed ‘righteousness’. My friend Brenna says it best, “the
amazing thing about grace is its comparison to the sky. Completely vast and
seemingly tangible but when it is reached for we’re somehow surprised that it
is too big. And so we stand under it and marvel at all the ways it chooses to
inspire us.”
This I Believe.
