The knowing smile...

I want to share a little story with you, today, as we begin our three-day weekend.  The other day, as I finished paying for my coffee at Maverik, I turned to leave and caught the eye of the woman behind me.  She was quite small, shorter than me, and she looked at me with a smile.  There was something about her smile that seemed so knowing and familiar.  It occurred to me, as I reflected on this, that this happens to me quite often. I will exchange a glance and smile with someone and it seems oddly familiar. There is a knowing, a recognition, in the glance. The person is a stranger, but yet, there is a knowing.  I'm reminded of Fr. Richard Rohr's sharing of Thomas Merton's experience of seeing strangers on a busy street corner and suddenly being overwhelmed with love for them. Merton recognizes that these people, as they busily traverse the intersection, are people of God; God's very own and he is overcome with love for them.  I guess it may be happening to me one person at a time, but it seems similar.  I am becoming able to recognize, through the grace of God, these strangers that God has placed in my day to share a smile.  This seems incredibly wonderful to me! This weekend, as we go about our end-of-summer revelry, let's take special care to take a look at each other. Let's look into each other's eyes and smile.  We are all children of God and brothers and sisters! Love, heidi