Scene:
Lady sitting on the bus, directly behind back doors.  People are entering.  One man, about 40, sits next to lady.  She proceeds to safety pin the hem of her pants.  He proceeds to help her so it doesn’t bunch.
Lady- “Thank you.”
Man- “You’re welcome.  When you get home at night, you’re too tired to sew.  The tailors would charge ten dollars.”
They continue to talk about such topics as work and public transportation, and then where they are from.  The lady wonders why he asks, because does she really stand out?  So after they briefly talk about the wonderful things of the Midwest, she asks him.  At first he seems hesitant, but then proceeds to basically convince her that India is a wonderful place to visit- all of the sights, fresh everything, the abundant prevalence of God-- too much to pass up.  The lady thinks about her recent answer to the question, “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?”  It was India.
As he gets off at his stop, he invites her to his house sometime, thanks her for “being helpful” (she’s still confused about that), and hopes they meet again.

This is one example of what seems to happen every day to me.  In fact, the only time I remember it not happening recently was after work, when I had my arms crossed, and was dozing off.  It’s a privilege to meet so many wonderful people, and I’m grateful that they feel comfortable enough around  me to talk.  Everyone’s story is unique, and interesting to hear about.  I imagine being an ambassador, a peacemaker, to countries around the world.  I’ll talk with the friend(s) that I’ve met from that country, and find out the best (and least offensive) way to approach the situation. . .  I don’t think that it(whatever it is that attracts people to my side)’s an ingrained thing.  It’s not me.  It’s the Holy Spirit, or God’s love, I hope.  I don’t take credit for it or think that I’m all that great.  There must be some purpose for who I meet or what we say, but I don’t know that I’ll ever know what.  For my part, I try to be encouraging and bring something good to their day, not feed on the negative.  It’s easy to complain, but where does that lead?  “… you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippians 4:8 Message).

I’ve likened myself to King Nebuchadnezzar.  He was a king of Babylon around 600 BC, and general regarded as villainous (but with some notable characteristics.)  In Daniel 4 in the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar thinks he deserves the palace, and all of the good things that have come to him, and pretty soon is eating grass.  Whatever it is that brings these strangers together with me, I thank God for, and give Him the credit.

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In the timeliness of St. Valentine’s Day, I’ll leave you- no matter if you have a ‘sweetheart’ or not- with this thought:
”For I am persuaded that neither life nor death, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 KJ21).