Strange Christians

I had two seperate experiences this week dealing with Christians who were also strangers. Each incident left me with strong feelings toward the person, but the feelings were completely opposite.
The first ~ Wednesday night, my adopted fam and I went to eat at a favorite Chinese place of ours. Now, for those of you who don't know my adopted mom, she is one you don't want to mess with. She definitely has a temper on her. (This will come into play later.) Anyway, we walked in behind an older couple and got in line. In this particular restaurant, you walk through a corral (I always feel the need to moo when walking through one of those) and pay before you eat. That was where the fun began! On the other side of the bars (the already eaten and about to leave side) stood a young couple with two young boys. As we walked in behind the first couple I overheard the young woman chastising her husband for not being in line. (He was taking the kids coats off) Then she decided to take it upon her self to declare her "rightful place in line." She stepped right in front of mom. Big mistake! Mom didn't realize what had been going on, so she called the woman out on her rudeness. Well then the argument began. She proceeded to tell mom in a nasty tone that cutting her in line wasn't very "godly," and she didn't appreciate her talking like that in front of her children. Then she continued yelling... mom must not be a Christian because of the way she was acting. (Now up until this point mom had held her tongue, and much to the surprise of the rest of us, didn't throw a well deserved swing.) Mom looked at me and pointed to the lady and said, "She's a Christian!" Then the lady turned and offered to let mom infront of her - after she called her a fat@$$ b*#?ch. Mom refused and the lady went ahead and paid for their meal.
She was obviously in a hurry....Her family was dressed nicely.....They left at 10 till 7.
following me? She was on her way to church.
I was so angry at this woman I'd never met before, because she's the kind of person people use to label all Christians hypocrites. I wanted so badly to say something to her, but what to say? Would she hear me? Would she just want to fight with me too?
I walked away feeling angry and awful...


The second ~ I went to church Sunday morning knowing that I was going to hear a sermon that would touch me personally. Dr. Johnson is doing a series called "Get This Christmas Right." Sunday's was on Those Living With Loss. It was a very good lesson. He always has a way of making God's word real. It's no longer words on a page, but a scene that I can see play out in my mind and better understand what God's trying to tell me with that story. Anyway, toward the end, he asked anyone living with loss this holiday season to raise their hands. So, though it was way out of my comfort zone, I raised my hand. Then he asked us to look around and find someone with a raised hand to lay a hand on. I was sitting by myself because my usual crowd was not there. (Going to church by myself is a very painful thing for me.) This young woman came and sat beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder as we prayed. Then she offered me a tissue. Before the end of church she'd given me her name, number, e-mail address and a hug. She wanted me to feel free to call her to vent or share frustrations.
I walked out of church feeling like a weight had been lifted, and that there are people out there who are willing to get involved, invest themselves and invite you into their life. At that moment, she was Jesus to me.

SO, when you or I cross paths with a stranger this week, how will they feel when you walk away? I hope the feelings I leave behind are like the later...