As Liz, LaShondra, and I traipsed out I was a little nervous. Starting conversations with random strangers is definitely one of my weaknesses so I had no idea how it was going to go. We got to the first bar and sat down at a table. The bartender came over and handed us a menu, I smiled at her and we asked her name. She answered and then I introduced myself and when I said, “Natasha” she gave me the most quizzical look then grabbed her friend, pointed to our table and ran off. I might have been slightly confused, I’ve yet to have that reaction to my name, nonetheless we proceeded to introduce ourselves to our new friend who had apparently been told to entertain us. We asked if she wanted to play pool; which she was game for, we teamed up, LaShondra and I and Liz and our new friend. The game took a good while because none of us could actually play a consistently goodgame. In the end Liz was able to make a good connection with her and set up the possibility of meeting her again. (On a side note the bartender did end up coming back and finishing the game of pool with us in place of her friend)
We moved on to the second bar and sat down. We ordered our drinks of water, a coconut shake, and tea then kind of waited. This bar seemed a little more difficult because the employees were behind us making it difficult to make eye contact. We got tired of just sitting there so finally we put all shame aside and called one of the employees over and asked if they had any games. She brought over dominos and Connect4. We were so excited but before we could stop her she set them down and then walked away. Well, okay so the point of getting the games was to invite her to play with us. We played a couple rounds of Connect4, which LaShondra dominated then we did the whole awkward motioning thing. “Do you want to play?” Words uttered with just a hint of desperation. Words that I never thought in a million years would come out of my mouth at the age of 22 in a bar. In that instant I felt like a little kid asking if the neighbor kid could come out to play.
Praise the Lord she sat down and we played about 10 games of Connect4 then she got up and left. I figured her time was up with us and that she needed to get back to work. Then she came back! She brought with her Jenga. Ahhh Jenga, the memories I have had with that game. So, in the middle of all these bars with men walking past watching, we drank our water and played a simple child’s game. Naturally, the girl we were playing with still had to try and get customers. I remember one man in particular. He was of average height and really of no account tolook at. As she talked to him he drew closer and I watched their “conversation” intently. The extent of their conversation was the man staring at her chest while they “joked” about things. I was incensed. How dare he walk up to her and simply talk to her chest. I’m sorry; did it have something to say to him? No? I think then perhaps it would have been respectful for him to look her in the eyes while he talked to her. Anger welled up in me and I had to keep my balled fists under the table so they wouldn’t give away my feelings. My eyes glared at the man. If I could have smoldered him where he stood he would have been a pile of ashes. Every part of me wanted to walk right over to him and teach him a thing or two about respect. But I didn’t. I controlled my eyes and smothered the anger that was radiating from me. I put on a triumphant smile when she walked back over and he walked away.
After that moment though, sadness overcame my heart. I realized that this beautiful woman who was created in God’s image is accustomed to men looking at her body and not giving a damn about her heart or who she really is(pardon my language). I wondered to myself how this was possible, how she could be so desensitized to it. Then I realized I don’t even look at myself as made in God’s image most of the time. I spend my time in the mirror covering up my imperfections and complaining about the weight I’ve gained. If I am a daughter of the King and I am complaining about the body he gave me then am I really living in the knowledge that I have been created in his image?
Genesis 1:27- So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
We had some fun at the bar with a camera. We were attempting to get the women to come join in on a photoshoot with us. It wasn't quite as successful as we had hoped, but we have plans to use this tactic again in hopes of better results.
