Waiting in Line
As I was waiting in line at the grocery store today, and elderly man looked at my cart and asked if I was stocking up. I get asked that often because my cart is usually overflowing and stuff is piled on the bottom as well. But I told him I was stocking up for the week. He asked how many children I had and when I told him I had seven, his eyes lit up. He was the sixth of seven kids, but he was the only surviving sibling. I expected him to go on about the good times and how it was to grow up in a large family.
But then he told me two of his sisters had died in a concentration camp and he had been in one when he was 15. After the war, he left his native Czechoslovakia and settled in the US. He had only been here about a year when he was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War. He is a Holocaust Educator and gives presentations to schools and other organizations. Then he told me the flowers in his cart were for his wife of 50+ years, and he was on his way.
I was so humbled by this man of such grit and integrity. A true survivor. I felt inadequate to say anything of value or importance to him.
I talked with the kids about what he had said, carefully explaining what the Holocaust was and how this man fit into it all. I could tell as I navigated the streets to our next destination that the kids were having a hard time understanding such evil. But I think they understood that the man was a hero; someone to revere and respect. Someday they will understand, I think.
The rest of the ride was somber and I found myself feeling low, and brooding.
But God wasn't done yet.
While waiting in line at the second store, I found myself in a line that was.not.moving. An elderly man (not as old as the first) struck up a conversation with me about the customer service at the store and work ethics in general and how we would manage such a store if we were in charge. Then he asked me about my faith and I shared, and he shared his with me (Baptist). We talked about God, raising children, and other random things.His faith in Christ was evident and refreshing. Good thing the line was so slow, otherwise we wouldn't have had such a long conversation. And we went on our way.
The ride home was more cheerful and I marveled at how I was so blessed at both stores by men of age and wisdom and experience. How encouraged I was by both men, but in different ways. And I wondered about the purpose of those two encounters.
As I pulled onto my street, I thought, no matter how evil the world is, no matter how dismal the news is in the paper, no matter how bad it gets, there is Christ in the midst of it all. It was so clear and simple, and God just used two men to remind me of this.
What a God.
But then he told me two of his sisters had died in a concentration camp and he had been in one when he was 15. After the war, he left his native Czechoslovakia and settled in the US. He had only been here about a year when he was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War. He is a Holocaust Educator and gives presentations to schools and other organizations. Then he told me the flowers in his cart were for his wife of 50+ years, and he was on his way.
I was so humbled by this man of such grit and integrity. A true survivor. I felt inadequate to say anything of value or importance to him.
I talked with the kids about what he had said, carefully explaining what the Holocaust was and how this man fit into it all. I could tell as I navigated the streets to our next destination that the kids were having a hard time understanding such evil. But I think they understood that the man was a hero; someone to revere and respect. Someday they will understand, I think.
The rest of the ride was somber and I found myself feeling low, and brooding.
But God wasn't done yet.
While waiting in line at the second store, I found myself in a line that was.not.moving. An elderly man (not as old as the first) struck up a conversation with me about the customer service at the store and work ethics in general and how we would manage such a store if we were in charge. Then he asked me about my faith and I shared, and he shared his with me (Baptist). We talked about God, raising children, and other random things.His faith in Christ was evident and refreshing. Good thing the line was so slow, otherwise we wouldn't have had such a long conversation. And we went on our way.
The ride home was more cheerful and I marveled at how I was so blessed at both stores by men of age and wisdom and experience. How encouraged I was by both men, but in different ways. And I wondered about the purpose of those two encounters.
As I pulled onto my street, I thought, no matter how evil the world is, no matter how dismal the news is in the paper, no matter how bad it gets, there is Christ in the midst of it all. It was so clear and simple, and God just used two men to remind me of this.
What a God.
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