It's God

 

One of the things that Heidi the Librarian and I like to do in Charleston is a Secret Food Tour. We meet our group and guide at a designated location and then visit five lesser-known eateries around the town.

 

In 2022, our guide was a guy who had quite a few ear piercings.  

I don’t remember his name, but I remember talking with him about his piercings and trying to decide which piercing I should get next.

I decided on my second lobe piercing.

 

In 2023, our guide was a girl who had just moved South.

She was a musical theatre person, and she had come to the area for a show.

Before that, she was Shug in the Color Purple in Boston.

I don’t remember her name, but I remember talking with her about The Color Purple and tearing up together as we discussed the deep emotion of the show.

I told her how I’d been taken aback when the actress playing Shug in the 2023 NC Theatre version of the show had to stop singing because she was crying during the finale and the curtain call.

I’d never seen an actor or actress that overwhelmed with genuine emotion,

But it moved me and I told my guide that much.

She understood.

She, herself, had been moved by that same emotion.

It’s the same emotion that I felt watching the movie version of The Color Purple.

It’s hope.

And forgiveness.

And redemption.

And love.

 

It’s God.

 

I think sometimes we want God to move in big ways—

Ways that are obvious and cannot be denied.

 

But I think most times, God moves in small, quiet ways—

Ways that are commonplace and can be reduced to good luck or coincidence if we let them.

 

In the Old Testament, God didn’t speak to Elijah in the storms,

Rather God spoke to Elijah in a whisper.

 

In the New Testament, God didn’t come to earth with fanfare,

Rather God came as a helpless baby.

 

Our food tours in Charleston were just passing tours.

I will never see those guides again.

Yet I will remember them,

Especially the 2023 guide,

Because of the ways they shed light into my life.

 

Dear God: May we see you in the people around us and may we be you to all whom we meet—whether be in passing or whether it be for a lifetime. May we use our voices to whisper love and may we use our resources as hope. Help us to see you in the small things—to rejoice in the goodness that you are, even when life is hard and circumstances far from easy. Open our eyes that we may see and connect our tears as they fall. Amen.