love begets love

Jesus is always there for you--the question is...are YOU always there for Him?

 "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things endures all things. Love never fails!" 

1 Corinthians 13:7

Several days ago, I ran a few errands. First, I went to the bank. There ahead of me was an older gentleman, asking the teller about receiving his tax refund, seeing as how he had moved recently. Instead of reassuring him, she seemed brusque, at one point, looking past him and rolling her eyes at me. Yes, he seemed a bit confused, but I was in no hurry and hoped that by smiling at her, she understood that. Finally I put my hand on his shoulder and offered reassurance myself, seeing as how the teller was going to be of no help. When it was my turn, she apologized for "the wait."

"Apologize," I asked her? I was in no hurry and he was in need of that extra minute or so to be offered a kindness. "Life is too short," I explained, "to be in such a hurry!" Then it was off to the hardware store. Again, another brusque cashier, always going too fast. I again reassured her that I was in no hurry and to just relax...slow dowwwnnn! She smiled at me and said how everyone thus far that day was in a hurry and she felt so frustrated! When I left, she was all smiles and I could sense that she felt more relaxed.

Why is everyone so impatient if we don't get what we want right now? Awhile back, I had written about a cashier at a busy store who was making polite conversation with the gal she was waiting on while the one behind her did a slow steam of having to wait. The one being waited upon was probably in need of a smile while the one behind her felt that was too much to ask. Turn that scene around: what if the cashier couldn't be bothered and rang up this lady's purchases, all the while popping her gum? "That'll be $4.50, puh-leeeeze..." she'd say in a banal voice, accepting the cash, dropping the change into your open hand and moving on to the next unsuspecting customer, all in conveyor belt fashion. Would that have made any customers' day any better? Maybe this is why we are all so rude to one another...no one has been polite to us first and that just trickles on down in our day...rudeness begets more rudeness.

How about happiness...begets happiness?

As a society, have we really come to this? When everyone is more fascinated with the phone in their hand instead of having real conversations with people, when we are so busy that we can't be bothered to say hello to the one who is standing RIGHT THERE in front of us instead? Why is being polite in such short supply?

Beginning today, imagine having Jesus as your shadow. He is standing right there, guiding you, admonishing you, maybe laughing with you at a joke you have shared, but not once does He ever laugh AT you, not once does He ignore you. He is much like a parent with a child, taking you by the hand, leading you to places of safety and reassuring you that all will be well. The storms may be raging outside of your door, but in His presence, the sun is always shining. You can be that Jesus for someone else!! Just as the real presence of Him is always with you!