"So, What's Your Story?"

I'm not sure why but lately I have been looking at people, total strangers, at our local Walmart, at the health club, book store, coffee shop etc, and wonder "What's your story?" Everyone has a story and most want to tell their story if they feel reasonably safe in doing so, and if they are fairly certain someone will actually listen.

Today one of my very good friends posted a sign on Facebook that underscores my thinking here. It was apparently posted in some neighborhood coffee shop and read "NO,WE DON'T HAVE WIFI. TALK TO SOMEONE!" It was handwritten in chalk on a message board. If I lived where I had seen that sign I think I would enjoy just spending some time there to see how many customers read and take that to heart. Human interaction is absolutely critical to real human connection.

Think about it this way. When your phone rings and the voice on the other end doesn't register as someone you actually know, what is your immediate reaction? Are you usually eager to engage that strange voice in some kind of familiar interaction, or is your impulse to just hang up? When you see an email in your inbox from some name you don't recognize, do you always open it and read it or are you at least hesitant to do so? How many voice mails do you just delete every day (or whenever you clean out your inbox) because you don't know the person who sent them?

I'm really not trying to be critical here, just trying to nudge all of us a little to consider how we might be allowing our society to shape our thinking and habits into neglecting the one crucial element in sharing the real good news with others in our world - face time. There are people in your life and strangers you meet every day who want to know the Lord you serve but almost none of them will ever ask. God gave us his Holy Spirit to teach us how to share that good news with others and at some point that will always require some serious face-time conversation.

So, here's my point, if you're still with me. Every morning as you shave, comb your hair, fix your makeup, brush your teeth in preparation for your day, pray this simple prayer while looking at yourself in the mirror - "Almighty Father, I truly want to be involved in what you are going to do in my world today. Please give me a sense of awareness when you put someone in my life today for your own purposes and help me to step into that divine moment with the right words and intentions. Thank you for every opportunity to bring glory to you and share your love with others."

Can somebody say "AMEN & HALLELUJAH!"