Here’s what I love: Nashvillians are EXTREMELY friendly.
We’ve lived here since July and I have yet to have a bad experience with anyone. I’m convinced that all sales people love their jobs and that every member of the general public is happy to be alive. Unfortunately, it was not that way in Houston. I mean, many Houstonians have that obligatory southern hospitality goin’ on… “y’all come back now” and “darlin’” are heard coming out of people’s mouths all the time. But, Houston is a big city and I’m coming to the conclusion that big cities are full of rushed, disgruntled people. It could be the heat in Houston that makes people cranky. Who knows. I also don’t know what makes the people in Nashville so stinkin’ happy with their lives that they would be so genuinely kind to other people. Is it the more mild weather? Is it the small town feel? Is it the fact that there is a church on every corner?
I was checking out at Kroger recently and the store clerk noticed I was buying a bouquet of flowers.
“Do you have Vodka at home?” He asked me.
I stared blankly for a second. Was he talking to me? Why was he asking me that? Was he hoping to be invited to a party at my house involving hard liquor?
“Um, no.” I managed to sputter out.
“Well, stop at the liquor store and getchyou some vodka—put a couple table spoons in the vase before you put these flowers in the water and it’ll prolong the life of the bouquet.”
“Oh, wow! Really? Thanks! I’ll do that. Good to know.” I marveled.
Next, the sacker struck up a conversation about the weather and the fact that I was buying limes. He then gave my daughter a pink balloon and a lolly pop.
I mean, it’s like Disney World around here at the grocery store. Everyone’s all jolly and kind. Even other shoppers aren’t trying to elbow their way around you at every turn—everyone is like: “no after you” “Sorry!—you first.” Genuine smiles and “hellos” abound.
Now that I’ve stopped feeling like I’m in an episode of the Twilight Zone, I’ve moved on to trying to get in the spirit of all this small-town cheer. After all, I don’t want to appear like a big city meanie! So, I’ve been making a conscious effort to slow down, to smile at strangers, to greet store clerks (instead of stare blankly when they strike up a conversation).
I may never know what enables the kind folks of Nashville to be so consistently kind and friendly, but I know Who will enable me to succeed in showing the same type of genuine loving-kindness.
John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Here’s what I hate: seeing is making me sick.
Got new glasses today. It’s probably about time since I ran over my last pair with the car about two years ago. I still maintain that I don’t really NEED glasses. I mean, I only need them to drive at night or if I want to see the fast food menu above the counter. I can get by with squinting just fine. (Granted, there was a time when I had to get out of my car to walk up close and look at what the street sign said…but, it was extra dark that night.) Even before I ran over my glasses with the car, I was sort of too vain to wear them very consistently. So, it’s a good thing that I don’t really NEED them to function. I was sitting in the Lens Crafters thinking, wow, I’m sure glad that my eyes aren’t REALLY bad…I started being thankful that I have the ability to see pretty okay without any help from contacts or glasses.
Then, I was presented with my new glasses. I put them on and looked across the store. The signs far away had words on them! I could read them! Even the cursive writing popped out. Wow. I turned my head, woah. All the sample frames on the wall sort of billowed out at me. I looked at the sales woman to see if she saw them move. She didn’t. I looked back. They all looked so crisp and bright and I kept feeling like they were coming at me off the wall. Weird.
I paid the nice lady and left the store. Walking through the mall, the floor began to come up at me. I felt like I was in a Fun House. Everyone was so close to me and so eerily crisp. Walking out into the drizzle, I could see every drop of rain so clearly. I felt like a super hero or a vampire or something. But, the more I walked and the more I looked around as I drove out of the mall parking lot, the more nauseated I became. I felt sea sick and just weird. Maybe I wasn’t vain before, maybe this was why I never wore my glasses!
As I drove home in my sea sick state, I realized a few things about seeing.
Sometimes, I don’t even know that my spiritual vision is blurred. I can get by with squinting at the scriptures from time to time and I tend to grow calloused in my own little world. But then something happens that brings clarity to my vision. A verse might reveal a deeper understanding of Christ’s love and power. God opens my eyes to my own pride and selfishness and I become sickened by the sharp reality of my unrighteousness. Or a problem brings me to my knees and when I look to God for help, He opens my eyes to the bigger picture of what He is doing.
Just like putting on a new pair of glasses for the first time, seeing clearly isn’t all that comfortable at first. But, when we get these glimpses into our own character or into the character of Christ, we are getting a chance to ask for healing and look forward to the day when we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Matthew 13:15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
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