Running Late

We were cutting it close, too close. But we made the stop anyway. I could say that the car needed gas. But the truth is, we needed gas – coffee!

So, we found an unknown. It was the only shop Google found for us. We even needed to backtrack a little bit.

NO! It would not be open for another 6 minutes. But an eagle-eyed passenger noted that others were walking by our parking spot and entering, (what’s this?), another coffee shop!

In our rush, we nearly collided with others who had simultaneously reached the door. They offered to let us go first, but we said, “Nah, YOU go first. We’re just out of towners!” The couple laughed and told us they planned to buy out all the scones which would, in their words, make it a very bad day for us, then!

We entered the queue behind the townies, and I decided to ‘poke them’ a bit. I said something to the effect that they were taking an awful long time! Again, they laughed, and the man told us a story. He heard something similar one day when he placed an order with two little girls. It really was taking time as the children were making up their minds, but the people behind him were gracious that day saying, “It’s really nice of you to take your granddaughters out for scones and a beverage!”

A disheartening smile was his response. The little girls were his daughters! We all laughed. I mentioned that his response should have been, “Take your time, girls!”

As we left with our to-go 'fuel', we stopped by the table where our new friends sat eating scones (they had not bought all of them after all) and drinking coffee. We had to say how much we enjoyed meeting them. A little more bantering and we left having all wished each other a great day.

• I want things to be that way everywhere – every day.
• I want us to enjoy the company of others, strangers even.
• I want to laugh, joke, and commiserate with people I will never see again – but will remember often.
• Even when running late, I want to take a moment to enjoy opportunities to interact with open arms and heart, leaving any differences irrelevant to the time spent.

Do you think this is possible?

I’ve heard it noted that Jesus was interrupted over 35 times in the stories of the Bible. We won’t be healing any people from disease, of course. But we might be healing souls of loneliness, despair, or even depression. Sometimes, all it takes is a moment and a smile.

PS.

1. We made it just under the wire to see the high school performances mentioned last week. Actually, I snuck in after the door had already closed but nobody tossed me out.
2. Back in the car, I had one bite of a scone - I'm normally not a fan. This one was a drive-on-a-whim-for-over-an-hour delicacy! I might even go today!