Strike Up A Conversation

At Bible Study last night, we discussed the first few parts of the book The Tangible Kingdom Primer: An Eight Week Guide to Incarnational Community. If you're thinking, 'what?,' you aren't alone. When we first started talking about this, I had never heard of the word 'incarnational.' What it means is: to be a representation of Jesus. So, an incarnational community is a bunch of people being a representation of Jesus. Makes sense, right? Right.

Anyway, as we were discussing this book/guide, we came to a part I did not like. Before I get into that, let me tell you something. I did NOT want to go to Bible Study last night. If you know me, you might be thinking, "Gina, you live there, you have to go!" True, but there have been times I sat in our bedroom because I was too tired and there have been times I went out because I had errands to run. Last night was one of those nights where I was too tired. I was just drained in every aspect of life: physically, emotionally, and mentally. I told my husband I didn't want to have Bible Study and that I wanted to relax. That wasn't an option, unfortunately, because it was too late to cancel and we had cancelled last week. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having Bible Study at our place every week, but it's HARD. We open up our house twice a week: once for Bible Study and once for church. It's draining, especially when you have a baby.

Anyway, I desperately wanted to cancel Bible Study, but when that wasn't an option, I told my husband I needed a break and I wasn't going to attend. I had every intention of not attending when some how, some way, God orchestrated my steps otherwise. Yes, I ended up attending Bible Study even though it wasn't MY plan.

Here's where I pick up where I left off a few paragraphs ago. We get to a part in this book/guide I do NOT like. The book and John had challenged us to do the following this week: cross you fence and do something to bless or simply converse with one neighbor on your street, cross you street and do something to connect with someone who is close to your home, but with whom you haven't built a relationship yet, and cross a social, political or ethnic barrier.

"Excuse me?! No, I am not doing that! I do NOT have the time for that," were my initial thoughts. Then I thought, "I should have skipped Bible Study like I planned, then I wouldn't have to do this." I honestly hate going out of my way, now more than ever because I don't have the energy or the motivation, but as a group we committed to this so I was stuck. And honestly, since we committed, I was going to take it seriously.

Fast forward to the next day. Here I am at ShopRite starting conversations with everyone I cross paths with, which at 730 AM, isn't a lot, but I did manage to strike up a conversation with an old couple from Bucks County in the deli line who had five sons and 6 grandchildren (by the way, the old man likes his cheese VERY thinly cut). It's amazing what you learn about people. And I did strike up a conversation with my cashier, which may not seem like a big deal, but to me it is because I NEVER talk to my cashier. BTW, she has three sons, non of which have kids and she was desperate for grandkids.

No, these people weren't in my neighborhood per se, but they were at the 'neighborhood' supermarket and it was nice to talk with them. I didn't talk about Jesus, but I made sure to give them a friendly smile and a 'have a nice day,' as I walked away. And it felt good, to be nice and friendly.

Everything was going well at ShopRite. I was making an effort to talk to people and if the opportunity arose, I'd do something nice for them like the book suggested (I did move my cart to the side for people to get by a few times). Then, as I'm in the checkout line, with my groceries all packed up and ready to be delivered to my trunk, I go to pay and realize my debit card is MIA. I have no other form of payment except a checkbook, but ShopRite conveniently doesn't take checks. Surprisingly, I was able to keep cool without having a meltdown even though I had no idea how I was going to pay for my thawing food.

I called my husband and he told me to go to the bank and take money out and pay for the groceries with cash. "How can I take money out if I don't have my debit card?" I asked. "The old fashioned way," he replied. It's been so long since I've done that, I forgot how. Luckily, the bank was like 200 feet away and I dashed there and back in 7 minutes. As inconvenient as it all was, I was able to talk to another employee and strike up a conversation with her.

When all was said and done, it was a successful day even though I had a slight mishap while checking out. I was glad I made the effort to talk to people and learn about them. It was pretty neat. And I don't know why the whole debit card going MIA thing happened. Maybe it was Satan. Maybe he was angry I was being so friendly. Maybe it was God. Maybe God wanted me to talk to the second cashier I never would have talked to if I had my card. Or maybe it was just me being dumb and leaving it. Who knows. Either way, I feel like I accomplished something. No, I didn't lead anyone to Jesus or even talk about Him, but who's to say that my smile and friendly conversation didn't brighten up someone's day? Or reveal a love they've never seen? I'll probably never know, but that's okay, I feel like I did what God wanted me to do: show His love through my actions.

BTW, I don't write this to pat myself on the back. I know there are people out there who do this on a daily basis. But this was a big step for me and I'm happy and glad I could do something this simple for Jesus.