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Whenever I travel to this one town, I stop and eat at a restaurant I really like. Recently I met a colleague there, and we had lunch before traveling together to another city for a meeting.
The server seated us in an enclosed porch, and we began to discuss the particulars of the upcoming encounter.
During the conversation, I noticed an older couple being seated at an adjacent table. The man was sitting with his back toward me, and the woman sat faced in my direction. She seemed warm and inviting. While I continued the conversation with my colleague, I looked in her direction occasionally. Every time her eyes met mine, she had a big smile on her face. I felt like she wanted to join our discussion.
After lunch, my colleague excused himself for a moment and left the table. The woman now sat by herself at the adjacent table, and when our eyes met, she had that warm smile on her face again. She asked, “Excuse me, are you a minister?”
I don’t often talk to people I don’t know. Plus, I was apprehensive about answering. In my experience, the ensuing conversation could go really well — or not. I responded tentatively. “Yes.”
She was happy to hear this. Her husband (who also had excused himself from their table) was also a minister, and they were visiting the area for an event. She went on to say how much they had enjoyed their time and explained they were having lunch before heading their home. I didn’t ask her name or where they lived. But after our short conversation, I felt we had really connected.
I learned that God’s Holy Spirit moves us beyond our apprehensions to connect and share our lives with those we would not ordinarily meet.
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