This past Tuesday I dropped the only person I knew in
Memphis, off at the airport, and returned to my new home, where my phone immediately
broke. Talk about feeling stranded! But it opened up the way for me to really
start seeing Memphis. I had to talk to people and ask for directions to places
like the library (which is gorgeous!) so I could get WiFi and look up a Verizon store.
It sounds silly, but if I had my phone I wouldn’t have needed them. And do you
know how many beautiful moments we miss when we don’t actually need others or see people? I’ve
gotten to talk to so many beautiful people these past few days, with my
out-of-state accent, and it has been such a joy.
Since I only took what I could fit in my old 1996 Camry I’ve
been doing some garage sale-ing , and assorted thrifting as I try to get furniture
for my belongings. While out with my roommate at a garage sale we met this
beautiful old woman named Dot. Our small talk soon led us to bigger
matters of education in Memphis as she shared stories with us of this city.
Before we knew it we were invited inside for some cold sweet tea, and we left
with armfuls of gifts from her. She had learned what we came here to do, and
how we had been here less than a week and that touched her so much, but I think
we were touched more. Her generosity, hospitality, and just abundance of kind
words and advice were the kind of priceless beauty that only God can bestow
through people.
It’s so refreshing to see God in His children, and Dot was
an incredible blessing to us, but I think you can see attributes of Him in all of
His creation, even if they haven’t been found yet themselves. Later that day I
found myself outside a pretty rundown store waiting for the owner so I could
get a dresser. I’m not sure yet how southern time works, but this particular
store owner ran on his own time for sure. As I waited outside I tried to not
let myself be in a rush and to practice patience. I tried to look at people and
buildings and really just soak in this city as I waited. Before I knew it, a
few friendly homeless men stopped and talked to me at different times. I got to hear bits of their
stories and share in a few laughs. It began to rain and a friendly stranger
offered me his umbrella. I will admit, there were pieces of fear in me. I’ve
been wisely taught to be cautious around strangers, especially in run down
sections of the city. But there is also this gorgeous beauty you see when you
don’t always fear what you don’t know. There’s something beautiful about
sharing laughter with a toothless stranger on the sidewalk. There’s something
endearing about a person stopping in the rain to offer you their umbrella
because you looked at them as they went by instead of turning away.
I am confident that God is going to do incredible things
through this program I am in down here. And I know there will be many a blogpost
where I share about those moments. But I hope there will be just as many posts,
like this, where I share of how I met Him, down here in Memphis, in the
kindness, or generosity, or joy, of some stranger, or new acquaintance. For He
is everywhere. In people, places, and moments, and I don’t want to miss any of
it.
So as I continue on in my adventures in Memphis, this is the prayer I keep going back to.
“Give me a quiet heart, and help me to hear the still, small
voice that speaks within me. It calls me to come closer to You and to grow in
Your likeness. It teaches me to do my work faithfully, even when no one’s eye
is upon me, so that I may come to the end of each day feeling that I used its
gifts wisely and faced its trials bravely. It counsels me to judge others less
harshly and to love more freely. It persuades me to see the divinity in
everyone I meet.”
