What Do You See?

2 Peter 1:16-21

As I reflected on this morning's passage I thought about all the times I've wrongly perceived certain situations. You know, those times when we judge people based on what we think is going on instead of trying to understand why first.

I especially thought about this one time I went to the supermarket. I only had one or two items to get for dinner, so it should have been quick. I found a great parking spot, which usually means the store is empty. I walked in and sure enough, there were no lines at the register and I could barely see anyone in the store.

This would be a quick stop, so I thought.

After I got my items I stood in the shorter of two lines. There was a young lady with her son at the front of the line, an older couple with 3 or 4 things in their cart, then me. The young lady was having some kind of trouble, looking through her bag for something. Her son was being a brat, pulling at her shirt and begging to go home. She looked up again at the cashier, a look of desperation on her face.

I looked at what she was buying: milk, toilet paper, and a candy bar. She looked down the line and said she was sorry for the hold up. She then told the cashier to put back the candy bar. With those words her son got irritated, crying out for the lady to not do that, to please buy the candy bar. She leaned into her son and said to him they couldn't get it today, but she promised that the next time they could get it.

It was obvious to us that this young woman didn't have enough money to buy her items, let alone the candy bar. My heart sank as I listened to the boy cry, and watched as his mother did her best to comfort him. The cashier starting getting impatient, as did the people behind me. I must admit, until the point where I understood she didn't have enough money I was getting impatient as well.

Then, from nowhere, the man in front of me pulled out a five-dollar bill and asked the cashier to please take it. The young woman argued, but he ignored her, speaking only to the cashier. She quickly finished the transaction and proceeded to give the change to the older couple. He smiled, took the change (which was a dollar bill and some coins), and looked down at the little boy, who was now sniffling back his tears.

The young lady said thank you and told the boy to do the same. The little boy looked up at the couple, smiled as best as he could through his sniffling and tears, then hugged the legs of the older man. Nobody felt impatient anymore, all we felt was the unconditional love between two strangers.

It's difficult to feel anything but the need to spread this kind of love after witnessing it. To know that a simple action like that can bring joy and peace is the thing hope is made of.