Who Runs Across Your Path – Episode Two

This is a favorite photo of mine: my toddlers walking together.

This is the second story in my series about the random intersection of lives. Our paths intersect with other people’s paths and this sometimes leads to opportunity.  My first story was a runner’s story but we cross ways with souls no matter how we’re moving.

The free Continental breakfast offered at many American motels is the modern version of Canterbury Tales.  Chaucer’s characters were on a pilgrimage and their life stories and personalities met as they progressed toward their destination.  At the hotel breakfast bar, travelers usually don’t have the same destination, but they do have being on the road in common.  Fairly easily, I’ve observed, folks tend to talk over the cheap pastries and boxed cereal; stories emerge.

We were out of town overnight, taking advantage of the free breakfast in the lobby, when I began to catch on to a conversation near me. I much prefer people watching over the din of TV’s streaming network news.  Two travelers struck up a conversation.  The one, whom I will call a Listener, asked the other about her travels.  She responded by saying that her son and his girlfriend had been in a motorcycle accident.  The Mother’s son was transported to the nearby university hospital and she was staying at the motel in order to visit her son.  The Listener took very serious interest in the Mother’s story.  She dug up all the information about the crash and the injuries sustained.  The Mother shared the involved story without hesitation.  I imagine that being away from home, she hadn’t had anyone to talk to in person about the accident, except busy hospital staff.

Then the Listener’s husband showed up at breakfast. The Listener immediately began to recount the Mother’s saga to him.  In great detail, she filled him in on the Mother’s situation staying at the hotel and explained the son’s injuries.  At one point I saw her pointing to her leg, verifying with the Mother, the son’s condition.  Repeating the story with such passion and detail validated the Mother’s distress and communicated tremendous empathy.

At this point, it was time for us to leave and continue our journey. I was left wondering why the Listener had stepped into the Mother’s story.   The Listener, while clearly the personable type, did not strike me as nosy.  Her chattiness seemed genuine and she really did focus on all that the Mother had been through.  I did not get to see the end so I don’t know if the Listener got involved at a more material or spiritual level but  I am sure that the Mother left the breakfast bar full, not just from breakfast, but satisfied because someone cared enough to hear her heart.

The Bible says we are to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15) and that is just what the Listener did for the Mother. Tears often draw tears from others.  We are sensitive to loss and we express sympathy.  But that Scripture text begins with the words “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15).  It is not so easy to join in the happiness and success of others, especially if things aren’t going well for us.  I recall my Pastor sharing about this difficulty.  As an infant, his daughter developed a severe and life-threatening condition.  He and his wife saw many specialist doctors and he told how in one waiting room, they conversed with another family.  The other family had come for a follow-up appointment after their child had recovered.  My pastor told how hard it was to rejoice with them when the outcome had not been the same for his suffering daughter.

As our paths cross with the lives and stories of others, we will encounter both their joys and sorrows. God asks us to join them in the moment.  Be hopeful too, that God will send you sojourners to share your paths of joy or sorrow.

For another story where distressed travelers encountered Someone who cared, see Luke 24: 13-35.

Who Runs Across Your Path – Episode One

I am not a runner but I will meet my peeps at the Finish Line!

‘Who runs across your path’ is a statement, not a question. It’s a statement about the intersection of lives and this episode happened to a runner I know.

Out for a morning run, the runner I know came upon the sound of yelling. That might suggest danger, but the runner soon determined the location and source of the outburst.  A young girl was in the front yard of her home and her father stood at the door.  He was bawling out his daughter and she was crying.  Runners don’t usually like to break their stride but this scene broke the runner’s heart.  The runner stopped and spoke to the girl.  She was waiting for her school bus that morning, and not wanting to be alone, had woken her father.  Apparently, she had been told not to disturb him.  He was irritated and probably tired and he had lashed out at her.  Seeing the runner stopped and talking to his daughter brought some sense and calm to the man. The yelling ended and he made his way toward the girl, waving off the runner in silent acknowledgement of his error and the runner’s kindness.

My husband ran track in high school and still holds some school records.

 

This episode answers the question asked in the Gospel of Luke: “And who is my neighbor?”  (Luke 10:29) A lawyer had posed this question to Jesus following His remark, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Your neighbor is whoever crosses your path.  Love is being willing to put aside a personal agenda to address others’ needs.  Being able to do that requires a couple of things.  It requires open eyes and ears.  You can’t meet needs that you remain oblivious to.  Secondly, it requires compassion.  A tender heart develops as you understand and experience God’s great care and sacrificial love.

My treks will never be at a runner’s pace but I hope I’ll recognize circumstances of need and love neighbors when they run cross my path.

The Work of Your Hands

My family had the wonderful opportunity to go on a mini winter getaway. Northern Virginia has not had any decent snow this year so it was especially fun to experience a wintery atmosphere.  The first morning my husband and I stopped for some hot chocolate.  We ordered at the counter and waited as the young woman who was both the cashier and barista, prepared our drinks.  She seemed barely twenty and had darker skin tones and long, dark hair.  She could have been Hispanic or Native American; either would have been likely in this western part of the country.  She was neatly dressed and cordial, though not as jovial as other resort workers had been that morning.

She finished off our drinks with real whipped cream sprayed from the chilled silver canister and then carried the two steaming cardboard cups to where I was waiting. That’s when I noticed her left hand.  She had a thumb but three of her fingers were missing and she had only a disfigured partial pinky finger.  It appeared to be a birth defect.  Yet she had just delivered two hot cocoas to me, one in each hand!

Many people use handicaps as an excuse not to work. If working is hard and a disability complicates matters, some will decide not to work at all.  They rely on others and miss the satisfaction of accomplishment.  A disability is an embarrassment too.   In a culture where perfection is prized, it is difficult to be in a place where you will get noticed.  Thoughtless comments may be overheard.  Bravely, this cashier turned barista, took employment out in the public eye.

“A work of art” sounds like an oxymoron but we can take pride in our work products*. These cute sugar cookies from Cameron’s Coffee and Chocolates are decorated for Mardi Gras.

Sometimes, depending on the disability, employment can be hard to find. This is particularly true for those with cognitive impairment.  It takes well-trained supervisors and special options to employ the developmentally challenged.  Creating a business niche for them is a labor of love.  Cameron’s Coffee and Chocolates in my town is just such a place.  Coffee drinks and homemade confections are made and sold, giving work to special needs young adults.

 

Work is a gift. God gave mankind work in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15).  Of course work became cursed after Eden (Genesis 3: 17-19), but it continues to have value.  Occupation offers a healthy use of time and a sense of fulfillment, and it provides financial support as well as the opportunity to give to others and help those in need.  The Bible tells us to do work and to do it well (Colossians 3:23).  I’m applauding the overcoming attitude of the young café worker.  For her and all of us, “(Lord,) establish the work of our hands, yes, establish the work of our hands.”  (Psalm 90:17)

*A good book on the subject of being artful on the job is A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman