Angry Eyebrows and an Encounter of the God kind

by Robin Gray

A couple of weeks ago I decided I’d had about enough of Facebook and deactivated my account. You only need glance at the news once a day to recognize that these are troubling times that we are living in, and they certainly don’t appear to be bringing out the best in us.

When I started this blog, I felt very clearly that God wanted me to stick to the basics of scripture as it is applicable in daily life while avoiding politics. I’ve tried very hard to do that, and had left any social commentary I had to my personal Facebook page. I’m still going to try very hard to do that.

The power of words…

But words are powerful, and they matter. It is by the spoken word that God created both the heavens and the earth. And yet, we treat the power of our words so casually when we get behind the perceived safety of a computer screen. And I can admit that I am as guilty as anyone else of using my words in a destructive manner. That is probably the greatest spiritual battle for me, and I also admit that I fail daily to live up to the standard Christ has set for me.

Picking a side…

These are the times of choosing sides and the “us vs. them” mentality. And honestly, I don’t like to be forced to pick a side when life is complex and nuanced. It reminds me of the story in the Bible when Joshua encountered the Captain of the Hosts and asked him, “Are you for us or our enemies?” His response was telling: “Neither… But as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come,” (Joshua 5:13-14). Instead of asking God whose side he is on, perhaps we should be more like Moses and ask ourselves, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26).

The other pandemic…

We have a real problem right now in this society, and it’s a different kind of pandemic. We have a genuine shortage of empathy, and it seems to be spreading like wildfire even among those of us who consider ourselves to be Christians. It’s really a sad phenomenon when you think about how many times in the gospels that Jesus was “moved with compassion” for those he encountered. He was provoked to action in healing the sick and feeding the multitude by an emotion shared by God and man. Compassion is one of the attributes we possess that truly reflect the image and likeness of God. And now when our nation and our world needs it most, it seems to be in very, very short supply.

So a couple of weeks ago, I threw up a white flag, deactivated my Facebook account, and tried to cocoon myself with just my close family and limited contact with coworkers.

Encounters of the God kind…

That is where Mr. Richie found me on Friday morning in the Walmart.

I was wearing my mask and practicing social distancing. I was also trying not to make eye contact with anyone because I just didn’t want to engage in even pleasantries or light conversation with people. I was quite disappointed in people, and wanted nothing to do with them on Friday morning. My eyebrows are naturally furrowed and I do not have an approachable face. The mask makes me look all the more unapproachable. I thought I was well prepared for a quick trip in and out.

But Mr. Richie stepped up right close to my impenetrable bubble and said, “Hello Miss. How are you?”

I furrowed my brow all the more, stepped back, and begrudgingly said, “Fine,” (in a tone that was definitely not fine). Then the obligatory southern raising kicked in and automatically I asked, “And how are you?”

He turned to look me right in the eyes and said, “I guess I’m okay. My mother died this week,” and almost at once my heart dropped and my walls crumbled and my brow unfurrowed itself. “I’m so sorry!” I said. “It must be so very hard to lose your mother.”

“It is,” he said. “I came up from Cross City to meet her here in Perry for the funeral.”

And then this grieving stranger in the Walmart stepped beyond his own circumstances to let me know that he saw me beyond the mask and the angry eyebrows. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“My name’s Robin,” I said. “And yours?”

“It’s Richie,” he replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I stepped forward. I wanted to hug him or at least shake his hand. But then I remembered the reason for the mask. “It was really nice meeting you too, Mr. Richie. I’ll be praying for you and your family.”

Mr. Richie gave me a maskless smile and said, “I’ll be praying for you too, Miss Robin.”

The power of compassionate words…

I walked away from that encounter a little lighter, and very thankful for Mr. Richie and his mother, who clearly raised him right and must be smiling down from heaven. Somehow, even in his grief, this stranger in Walmart saw me beyond the mask and all of my other boundaries and used the power of his words to change my day.

That’s compassion. I need more of that. We all need more of that.

I’m on the Lord’s side…

If I’m forced to choose a side, it’s going to be the Lord’s side… and Mr. Richie’s.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.”
~ Micah 6:8