This lady's name is BS and she bought Jess a cup of coffee for her birthday.
On Sunday when we arrived in Honolulu, we stopped into Starbucks to get some anti-jet-lag-juice aka coffee. We were accompanied by Eric, our school leader, and Krista Beihl, our good friend. What happened next is pretty random...
You can check out Krista's blog HERE.
Jess was wearing a birthday tierra, given to her by Krista. As we were waiting in line, the lady behind us started up conversation. She asked Jess if it was her birthday and then insisted that she buy Jess her drink. She said something to the extent of “when you get this close to the grave, you’ve got do random acts of kindness before time runs out, please let me buy you your drink.”
We struck up conversation and learned that this lady’s name was BS. She told us proudly that she is the only one with that name in the United States and had it legally changed. She then went on to tell us about how she had walked in all 50 states.
We got our coffee and walked outside, after thanking her, I asked BS if I could pray for her. She looked at me and asked me, “Is that what you do?” Not really knowing how to respond to that question, Eric jumped in and said, “Thats not all we do.”
What do you do?! Well this should answer SOME of your questions.
I asked if I could put my hand on her shoulder, and I prayed a simple prayer out loud. I thanked God that He has a plan for BS’s life and proclaimed the love of Jesus over her. I gave her a hug and we listened a bit more to what she had to say before we were on our way.
If you know me, I have a very low tolerance for small talk. I’m not good at it, and I really don't like it. But on the plane ride here, and at the beginning of this new journey, I’m realizing that people talk because they want to be validated. They need to be listened to, and need to be valued. They are talking, because they want to be heard. My question to myself, and to us, is are we listening?
We always say we want access to peoples hearts. Luke 6:45b tells us that “out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks” We gain access to people's hearts by listening.
It seemed like a message directly from heaven to me. Jim you need to listen to BS, both literally and figuratively. You need to value her as a person created in my image, with a plan and a purpose. You need to love her, be patient with her, and remind her that I created her, and that I love her. You need to listen to what people are saying no matter how absurd. You need to hear what their heart is saying, and then love them with My love.
Engage: Are you listening? Take the time to see who God is putting in your life to listen to and listen well. Share your story with us in the comments.
