Dec
5
2023
A Conversation At The Coffee Shop
Posted in Evangelism 2 Comments
It’s a tricky thing to tell a story.
Get your facts wrong and the story is untrue.
Get your facts right, but tell it in the first person, and you may get too close to self promotion.
Tell the story just right and, prayerfully, it blesses many.
My dear friend and I went to a local coffee shop.
We usually talk weekly and pray on the phone.
With my new grandbaby and the Thanksgiving holiday, it had been a while since we talked.
I knew we would be sitting at the table in the coffee shop for hours.
We first sat at a small table in direct line of the front door.
It was chilly that day, so every time the door opened, we felt the cold air.
We moved to two comfy chairs by the front window.
I offered her the sunny chair and I sat with my back to the door.
As we sat there and talked, catching up on family and life, I noticed a man at a nearby table.
He was sitting with his coffee and his head down reading a Bible.
He had a notebook next to him on which he was writing.
It warmed my heart to see him reading God’s Word.
My friend needed a fork so she could eat her coffee cake.
She walked up to the counter and had to pass the man’s table.
At the same time, he was also getting up to go towards the counter.
The two of them began talking together.
When she came back, she recounted their conversation.
You are so expressive when you talk, he told her.
I was studying my Bible and looked over and watched as you were talking with your hands.
You have a sweet countenance about you; a light that is obvious.
Skeptical people would assume he meant more than just a simple compliment with his words.
I saw them talking together.
I heard my friend as she told me about the conversation.
The man spoke kind words, correct words, to her.
She seemed amazed that anyone could discern her countenance simply by the way she talked.
My friend has lovely hands and is very expressive with them when she speaks.
It was a lovely, unexpected compliment that made her day.
We continued with our conversation.
About a half hour later, the man gathered his things and prepared to leave.
He had to pass us on his way out.
He stopped and talked to us some more.
He told us about what he was working on.
It seems that he volunteers at a local mission every Wednesday night.
This local mission provides practical assistance and Bible lessons to men in need.
The man was preparing a Bible lesson for the upcoming Wednesday night.
This mission does great work in our community and I am certain the men will be blessed.
We told him that we would pray for him.
He grabbed both of our hands and prayed with us right then and there.
There was nothing wrong or inappropriate about this man.
We were united in Christ; brother and sisters.
It is so wonderful to see someone studying their Bible in a coffee shop, I told him.
I come here to get ready for Wednesday, he said.
The men will be blessed, I told him.
Again, we reminded him that we would pray for him; we have prayed and we will pray.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
The man’s light was not hidden that day in the coffee shop.
Apparently, our light was not hidden either for him to discern it.
Two friends, two prayer partners, who love the Lord have something visible in our countenance.
It is unbeknownst to us, which is as it should be.
The man’s words did not inflate our ego.
The man’s words encouraged us in our walk with the Lord.
Even when we are not aware, our light shines before others.
It shines not for our glory, but for His.
Amen.
Post Script: I sat in church and listened to our pastor. We are studying the Beatitudes. This week we were looking at: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9) As our pastor prepared for his sermon, he thought about the fact that children look like their parents. We, who are in Christ, with God as our Father, look like Him. We resemble our Father and, with the Spirit’s help, act more like Him everyday. Perhaps that is what the man in the coffee shop saw when he looked at us…two women who look, and act like their Heavenly Father. Oh, I hope so!
Yet again the Lord says so much through the very ordinary. A beautiful display of Him.
Michelle,
Moments…Whispers…He is there in the ordinary. A simple gift.
Gina