I think I need to “get out among the English” more. I am seeing the people of the world through different eyes. Typically, most of the people I know and associate with are church members, and even then, living out among the outer boundaries of the Branch doesn’t allow for much socialization with these good people, either.
When I got a flat tire on the way home from church one Sunday, out in the country, it was the people covered in tattoos who stopped to inquire, so kindly and full of concern, if I needed help (it was really hot out ). It was, also, the people in the white truck, dressed in jeans and sleeveless tank tops, who obviously weren’t coming from church, who stopped. It was the couple, driving the crummiest car, hatchback held down with bungee cords, that had the hydraulic jack I needed (which was found underneath the woman’s wheel chair). The man proceeded to change the tire himself, and instructed us that the donut tire always goes on the back, never the front, and why. The woman he loved was deformed, short arms, hands scarred from multiple surgeries to straighten them some, make them usable. Her teeth were stained brown from nicotine and coffee. But she had a bright, sincere smile. Her eyes were kind.
All of these people live a very different lifestyle than I do. They smoke, they drink, they are into tattoo art, but they know how to love and serve.
I live in this place where I have been jerked around so much when I needed help, that I just see the people of the world in a cynical manner. I think I need to “get out among the English” more and allow the Lord tutor me freely about the good people who are out there. They just haven’t been in my circle.
