Streams of Mercy
The day before World Communion Sunday, I had a chance encounter with a little Muslim girl in the Biscoe Walmart, and was reminded once again of the blessing of each moment of life.
In the push and shove of that little store on a busy Saturday afternoon, I saw a sweet little girl smiling from her seat in the buggy while her parents shopped. She had beautiful braids and I told her I had braids like hers when I was a little girl. She replied, “I bet you were pretty!” She continued, “Did you have one of these?” pointing to her mother’s hijab. “No, I didn’t, but hers is beautiful,” I said, smiling warmly at her parents, who returned with smiles of their own. We went our separate ways, blessed by that shared moment.
As I was checking out in the Garden Center a few moments later a man spoke from behind, “Preacher, you missed a chance to ‘witness’ back there.” I turned around and smiled, not recognizing the man, though apparently he knew who I was, and replied, “But I didn’t miss a chance to love.” He just shook his head and walked away. Looking back, I wish my reply had been more profound - not to prove a point, but simply to engage in conversation. Maybe that’s what I really missed!
I always re-read a special little book each World Communion Day - God’s Dream. The book was written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in l984 for his lifelong struggle to bring equality, justice, and peace to his native country of South Africa.
At the center of the book is a heart-shaped “circle” of children from many different cultures and the words: “Each of us carries a piece of God’s heart within us. And when we love one another the pieces of God’s heart are made whole.”
My favorite part shows children kneeling, singing, and praying from the perspective of different faiths, and the words: “God dreams that every one of us will see that we are all brothers and sisters – yes, even you and me- even if we have different mommies and daddies or live in different faraway lands… even if we speak different languages or have different ways of talking to God. Even if we have different eyes or different skin.”
Giving thanks for the blessing of World Communion Day, for the little girl I met in Walmart, for all children everywhere, who carry a piece of God’s heart within them – and for those streams of mercy, carrying us through this life to the life to come.
Elizabeth