the little moments....

we were having lunch.
the guys were talkin' cars and business and politics.
there was a lull.

so i piped in.

'i saw god today. he was a black guy in an SUV.'

i went back to eating.

there was this silence.
everyone tryin' to figure out where that came from.
you could hear their gears kinda jam up in their minds.

i grinned and told them my story.

i was walkin'. was deep in the middle of some thoughts
when an SUV pulled up alongside of me. this black guy puts
his window down.

(now, to be clear, i always say people's color or say 'hispanic guy'
or whatever nationality. we're really mixed around here. and i'm really visual.
so it's part of the picturing. when someone else tells me their stories,
i need colors/nationalities and age. the age helps a lot.i need to visualize.
i'd love it if they threw in things like 'heavy set' or 'with a mustache' or whatever -
but no one else seems to need that from my stories, so i rarely put that in. but in case
you need it for this story - he was about my age, no facial hair. regular build)

anyway.........this guy puts his window down, kinda leans out a bit
and tells me his dog got out.

i immediately pointed around the corner as i had JUST heard all the dogs goin'
crazy on the other street.

he thanked me, and said so gently 'i just didn't want you to be startled.'

he wasn't stopping to have me tell him if i saw the dog.
it was the other way around.
he wanted to tell me about the dog so he didn't scare me.

and then he was off.

he was so incredibly gentle. i mean, i felt covered in gentleness.
and it felt so good.

how often does that happen?

and as he pulled off, i just felt it and was amazed at the man's demeanor.
'it was like god just pulled up.' i thought.

god would have to be that gentle.
altho, god rarely seems to care if he startles me.

i think i liked this guy better.

i thought of him again on my walk this morning.
and his gentleness.
and how goodness shows up in such little moments.

i needed to remember that this morning as the world's seemed less than
gentle lately. i decided i was going to look for these little moments today.
just look for them and hold them when they come thru.

and maybe offer a few back.