Thrift Shop Treasures

Numbers 6:26 -- "The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

From the moment our mothers hold us in their arms for the first time to the moment we walk down the isle as a bride or groom, [and even beyond] we are never far from their thoughts. Growing up, I wasn't sure that sentiment rang true all of the time, but now that I have my own two children, I know it's a fact written in stone.

Which is why, I suppose - when mother is out shopping with child - deep within each of us is a hard-wired instinct to turn tail and head in the other direction if we're faced with a very tall and somewhat apposing stranger in a crowded isle of clothing at the thrift shop. The white stubble on his five o'clock shadow bristling over rather dark skin did nothing to soften the edges of the man as I put myself between him and my fifteen year old, while very politely saying; "excuse us, sir" - that we might shuffle past him and head about our merry way.

We had not even reached the shelves of bed linen when the tall dark man stepped  up behind me and whispered: "I'm not a fresh person, but I have to say; whatever that is you're wearing, keep wearing it, girl .... mmmmm." His compliment was actually given to my shoes and even on his dark cheeks I could see the bloom of pink spreading from face to ears. I smiled, looked him in the eye and gave a very heart-felt thank you to this stranger who had just made my entire day by giving me a somewhat bashful compliment on my perfume. [It's Estee Lauder Cinnabar, by the way.] 

I looked at my son and grinned from ear to ear.

The thing is, through the course of our lives there are countless moments when things aren't always what they seem. Case in point; tall dark stranger might not always equal threat to person.

This is why I love the little prayer believed to be written by Noah in the book of Numbers. God is telling Noah to tell his sons how to greet some potentially dangerous strangers. An ounce of courtesy and respect go a long way when meeting a person for the first time, but even more than that - I like that the verse prays peace for the people we might meet. Just imagine how our interactions might change should we greet others in this same manner .... or even silently pray peace for them while we chat?

You never know, if we change the way we greet people, we might find more than a good bargain at the local thrift shop.