The other day, my dh and I plopped down in two of the four cushy chairs in the local Starbucks to play Scrabble. The shop started to fill up about halfway through our game when a woman (late thirties) walked in with her 12-year-old son. She bought him the beverage of his choice as well as choosing one for herself. How special! They meandered over by us to the other two comfy chairs near the front of the store. As soon as the kid's keister hit the chair, mommy dearest laced into him about screwing up at school. Now....don't get me wrong....we all make mistakes and our unsanctified selves will blurt out something awful or we'll be too harsh, etc., but this was WAY over the top. She went up one side and down the other in front of everyone at Starbucks and well within earshot of many of them. The humiliated subject would occasionally try to flee and she would raise her voice and tell him to get back and sit down. Finally, he could take it no more and he left.
Now, I was sitting in my cushy chair, minding my own business, laying down my Scrabble pieces, praying for this woman and her son, and asking God how I should handle this situation. After the boy left, I quietly approached the woman and asked if I could pray with her for her son, and asked if I could help or if she wanted to talk. We went to the back of Starbucks, prayed together, and had a really nice conversation.
YEAH, RIGHT!!!!! That is, unfortunately, what I WISH had transpired. Instead, I sat there the whole time muttering under my breath, thinking of sarcastic things I could say to her. When she finally left, I said, "what a jerk", probably loud enough for her to hear. I was so angry at what she was doing to this kid in public, that I completely missed an opportunity to treat this woman like Jesus would have. It was a good reminder to me. The next morning I thought of how I should have handled it. I am praying for another opportunity to run into this woman at Starbucks again. This time I'll be ready. This time I'll pray.
Colossians 4:4-6
4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
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2 comments:
great post!! Nerak you don't know me but you visited my blog and it was a blessing to see someone else other than just one stop by... your right, it's hard to just step up and say things or wittness in public I know it's hard for me to even wittness cause I am a shy person I pass out tracts from time to time but I pray that God will allow you to meet with this woman again. please come back and visit my blog. :)
Thanks for the comment, Marsheila. I visited your blog again last night and left you a comment. I am planning on "melting down" as well so let's stick with it!
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