{To Live Like That}

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I ran to the mall on my lunch break. The errands were done and I was on my way up the escalator to the Food Court where I was going to read for a few minutes before heading back to the office. There was a guy with a Greenbay Packers jacket sitting in a chair on the main floor, twisting around and waving as I boarded the escalator. 

A flash of irritation flooded my mind as I stared straight ahead, annoyed by yet another teenage punk looking for attention. The mall was crawling with them today. 

As the stairs moved slowly upward, his face came into focus in my head. About halfway up the escalator I leaned over the edge and took another look. He was peering straight up at me, his eyes cloudy behind thick glasses, a big lopsided smile on his face. He was with a group of his friends, but he was fixated with the sights around him. Suddenly my heart melted.

I finished my ride up the escalator and felt like I had been given a glimpse into a mirror...and in that reflection I saw my hasty judgments, impatient attitude, and self-focus. In the chair below, I saw a face staring back at me who wanted love and acceptance, and didn't harbor prejudice towards the girl who was too focused and busy to wave back in acknowledgement of his presence.

It was another reminder to me that everybody has a story to tell. Beyond the external, beyond the obvious, beyond what our prejudiced eyes see, there is a story that lies beneath.

I sat at a table in the Food Court with a book open in front of me. The words danced on the page as in my head all I could see was a picture of his face. My eyes skimmed the same paragraph over and over. I wanted a do-over. I wanted to walk by and pay attention this time. 

Then I heard noises behind me. Footsteps. Shuffling. I heard voices, yelling to customers in the Food Court.... "Enjoy your lunches! Enjoy your lunches!" The line of shuffling feet passed my table and I saw where the voices had come from. 

He passed my table...the boy in the Greenbay Packers jacket...the boy with the extra chromosome 21. I'm not sure if he saw me, but I smiled and waved as he walked outside into the sunshine with his friends.

Words from the song by "Sidewalk Prophets" kept running through my head, and I felt like God had gently given me a reminder that every moment is an opportunity to be a reflection of Him. Sometimes we get it right....sometimes we mess it up....and sometimes God gives us do-overs.

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You