WE ARE ONE!

As the week begins,

I have been reminded so many times this past week of similarities and differences yet WE ARE ONE!

When I first moved to Seattle, I lived a friend’s basement in the Lake Ridge neighborhood. I shopped in Renton at the Walmart. Neighbors said, “It is the scariest store.” Some asked, “Why don’t you shop at the Fred Meyers?”  I heard last evening from folks I had dinner with in South Seattle, and they reiterated, “It (Renton Walmart) is the scariest store.”

I walked into buy a couple of items yesterday morning. Two men from two different countries were delighted to see each other. They smiled. They laughed. They hugged each other.  So many people from so many countries lifted my spirit.

When I walked with my purchase, I shared a few words with the Kettle Korn Man, Robert. A woman shared with us about her church in Skyway. Robert stepped out of In His Hands Kettle Korn stand and joined us in a group hug. Robert then offered a prayer.

I headed to the DK Market, where I buy digestive cookies. They are delicious with a cup of Dutch Brothers coffee. I do digress. Or is it I digest?

The DK Market: "For some, the wares found here is the answer to an exotic ingredient quest, for others this is a giant taste of home.”  I did not even understand the languages that filled the air. I was in the moment and accepted the environment that engulfed me.

I watched the movie “The Big Sick” last week. I did not appreciate the F-bombs. However, I liked the message. I placed a snippet of the message that resonated with and allowed me to be observant and live my Renton moment this past Saturday.

So “As the week begins…” I encourage you to observe where you are in the moment.

https://www.facebook.com/julia.shaffer.37/videos/10210407078476428/

Kenneth

Since I had given my entire collection of Bibles away to those in need who have asked for one, I stopped on my way home last evening at a thrift store. As I looked through the Bibles and books on prayer, a young man walked up to me. His name is Kenneth, and he moved to America from Uganda 7-years ago.  He said, "Most Ugandans received Bibles because of the Gideon’s.” 

As I listened to Kenneth share his journey, the movie, “Hotel Rwanda” ran through my head. His compassion translates to love. He cares for the developmentally disabled in supported living settings.

When I asked him to name a challenge or what he did not understand when he moved to America, Kenneth said without pause: “I did not know where to go to church. There are too many denominations. I did not know which church to choose. American’s seem to over think God. Isn’t there one God?”

Kenneth continued to pull this torn, tattered and worn copy of the King James Bible from the shelf. He repeatedly handed it to me. I replaced it on the shelf each time. The final time Kenneth removed it from the shelf. He offered this piece of scripture for me:

“²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”                                         

-1 Peter 2:24 King James Version (KJV)

He handed me the Bible one more time as he walked away. I thumbed through it, and I realized that my Shaffer cousins would understand these comments.  There was a copy of Psalm 121 that my Grandpa Shaffer had me memorize as a young child secured with a rusty paperclip to the front page. There was clip shaped as a heart with the saying:  “I Love Step.”  I do not plan to move either item from their place in the Bible.

This Bible was given to another stranger named Raymond with an inscription from another stranger, named David: “To Raymond on his birthday with best wishes. David.” March 12, 1959.

This Bible will be a gift for more years to come.