
One Sunday morning I was talking to a friend of mine about current world events. Our conversation was made tricky because we were both wearing masks. The wearing of masks as a blanket rule for all was a very recent thing in our lives, so it wasn’t something I was used to and I felt like there would be no overcoming masks in order to have a full and honest talk. My friend, a licensed counselor and big picture kind of person, spoke positively about the masks and I spoke, er, not positively.
During the worship service that followed, I made the decision that I needed to find my friend after service to apologize for my saltiness and promise to have a better attitude going forward. It’s not that I was a swearing, foaming at the mouth rager about it. It was just that my friend was trying to be reasonable and I was having none of it. Ever been there?
Before the service ended I saw a visitor in the lobby and thought I should go and greet them. I slipped out and went to have a lovely chat with the woman and her wiggly toddler. The adorable little 2 year old with her ran to me immediately and wanted to be friends. I never turn down such offers, so I sat in the lobby with them both and held that sweet baby on my lap. There was a donut involved in our introduction and I found that I would need to wash my hands before returning to the service.
As I washed my hands in the ladies room I looked in the mirror and saw my friend to whom I owed an apology. Well, that is, I saw her very distinct shoes in a stall behind me. I smiled, “I see you!! I know who that is! Don’t be shy! Listen, come and find me later because I have something I HAVE to tell you. Also, I love those shoes.”
My friend sniffed, like she was crying. Oh boy. I should have known better than to speak through a bathroom stall. My friend is clearly in some sort of distress and here I am being goofy. Feeling sheepish and like I had done enough harm, I slinked out of the restroom.
Back in the lobby and my new toddler friend made a dash for me and insisted I pick her up. I’m no dummy, so I picked her up and went back to chat with her Mom. I figured that this way I could wait for my friend in the restroom to pull herself together so I could talk to her and make sure she was okay.
The door finally opened and I looked to see my friend’s amazing shoes, but they were not attached to my friend. No, they were on the feet of a whole other person that I had never met before. This person was a poor woman in the middle of a major seasonal allergy attack.
Of course.
After services I found my friend, still wearing her amazing shoes. “Hey. Did you know that there is a lady here in your same shoes?”
“Oh yeah! I saw that. But her outfit is way cuter.”
“And she has really bad allergies,” I added.
“Oh? So you talked to her?”
“Kind of.”
Sometimes I wish I was shy. I bet I would get in a lot less trouble and would owe far fewer apologies if I could be even just a little nervous about opening my mouth.