Kindness at Timmies

He was short, stout, thick with stubble and had a wandering eye. There was something off, his shuffle in the walk or maybe the lack of ability to hold your gaze for just less than a second. And when he spoke, it was like that of a small child, and It made me smile for the best of reasons.

I have learned to grow fond of such people. People that the world calls week because of their own short comings and their own lack of ability to love and care for the unloved. It is not their fault as we live in a dog eat dog world, and this man would beg to be slower in movement, slower in speech, and discarded in a heartbeat if needed.

But these are the times we live in...

Times when deformities are aborted, and our wisest are given the choice to legally commit suicide. Times when emotion drives logic and sexuality is given a choice. Society no longer clings to absolutes, it would rather argue about gravity then praise then one that gave it to them.

The man slowly shuffles across Tim Horton's at a painstakingly slow rate, watching his feet as if to encourage them on, all while carrying his empty bowl...

A group of us waits in line. He interrupts the ordering counter and asks, "wheeere ......... can..I ......... put my ............. dirty plate?" I almost jump in to help but then it happens; The most beautiful brown eyed teen aged girl comes over, she's on the other side of the counter. She lights up the people in line with her smile, waits for the man to complete his sentence, then instead of directing him to where everyone else leaves their dirty plates, offers to take them herself... She then says thank you...! She disappears into the back with the mans dirty dishes, leaving the long caffeine addicts jittering for their 3 o clock fix. She reappears, like she never skipped a beat.

Maybe this is normal behaviour at Tim's. Maybe I am so self absorbed that I have never noticed this public display of kindness before... or maybe what I had just witnessed was a moment in time that has begun to fill that place in my heart longing to live out with others "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". Maybe this all should be recognised as more.

I was stunned. I thought for sure the situation would end poorly. But in one split second, someone who is not treated like royalty has been. For one second a teenage girl overextends herself and sets the bar for those of us waiting in line.

At work we call these "God Sightings". Moments when time stopped, and for a short time, you can see the hand of God so clearly at work.

Notice these times... talk about them... encourage one another with them. For we live in dark times, and in dark times, the light shines brighter.