"Let's get this parking place," my husband said after we had driven past several impromptu lots with signs posting, Parking, $5. This was $5 too, but it was the closest to the festivities. We asked where the celebration began, and the attendant said, "Just go past that store and around the corner, and you are there!"
Trying to stay out of the full midday sun, we turned the corner, saw a colorful booth and headed for the shade of its awning. "Howard and Thelma Summers!" a voice exclaimed. I looked in the direction and saw Howard talking to the proprietor. Who could have known us in this town we'd lived in for only 4 months, and that 5 years ago? I heard her tell my husband her name, but he didn't recognize her.
"It's Kim, the lady whose house we rented!" I told him, realizing who she was. We had seen her mainly at church when her then long hair was coifed to perfection and she was in Sunday clothes. Now it was in a shorter, more youthful style and she was dressed casually to beat the heat, her face glowing with perspiration under her visor. She looked years younger. We greeted her warmly and gladly accepted the free iced tea she was giving out.
What were the chances that the first person we saw would be an old acquaintance in this town where we knew only our kids? It was a phenomenon we had experienced before. Once at IKEA in Houston, and again at the Galleria when we were with our granddaughter and she ran immediately into a person she had known years ago in another city. At a festival in rural Texas a few years ago, we heard someone yelling, "Summers, Summers," and turned to see friends who were hundreds of miles from their home, also. I could only conclude that it is indeed a small world after all!
There are many instances in the Bible when people didn't recognize Jesus. Mary at the tomb thought He was the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn't know who he was. The woman at the well said he was a prophet. And blind Bartimaeus could only recognize the voices of the throng calling his name.
But later, the hearts of the Emmaus Road travelers burned within them at His words. The woman at the well accepted His cup of living water. Mary became the first evangelist spreading the news that Jesus had risen. Jesus gave sight to the blind man. Our "small world" still largely has blinders over its eyes and doesn't recognize Jesus. It is our job to introduce them.
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