Just as we were leaving the house for Sunday morning worship services, our phone rang and a pregnant friend whose husband is out of town on a military training exercise was calling to ask for a jump start. Her van wouldn't start.
I asked her if I could pick her and her two girls up so we could get to church on time and we would jump the van afterwards. She was agreeable to that arrangement and we all made it there on time. (My husband drives separately so he can leave a touch before services end to get to work.)
After church, when we reached her house, I pulled beside her van and The Bubba hopped out with the jumper cables. I told all the other children to play in the front yard until we were through and they all piled out, too.
While I was trying to figure out how to get the hood of the van to pop up, (Oh yes, I have mad skilz with the auto mechanics!) I saw two young men approaching the house.
They looked to be in their early twenties and were walking two pit bulls on heavy chain leashes. One was shirtless and had several tattoos.
Call me uptight, but they made me nervous.
I called to the children to get onto the porch in case one of the dogs decided to bolt over there. (MAN! Those things have HUGE heads!)
Just then, the shirtless one called out, "Do you ladies need some help?" I told them that, in fact, we did and I sure did appreciate the offer. I kept eyeing the two dogs and I guess he could tell that I was nervous because he told the other one to chain them to a tree so the kids wouldn't be scared.
They basically took over from there and worked with my friend's van for a good 15 minutes before we decided she would probably need a new battery.
During that time they told us that they were visiting from out of town. Their grandfather had died recently and they wanted to check on their grandmother. I said that it sure was sweet and I'm sure she appreciated it.
When they left we thanked them and I reminded myself that first impressions aren't always accurate and some other stuff about books and covers.
I pointed out to The Bubba how helpful they were and he agreed. Then, I silently prayed that he might always be observant and look for ways to help those in need.
And I added in a little about not being tattooed and shirtless so as not to scare the ladies.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
First Impressions
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5 comments:
Reading your last post, I can see why you might be a little "up tight".:-)
Thank you for the reminder
that true beauty lies in the heart of service to others not what we see with our eyes.
Your right about first impressions! Glad they came along and were able to help. I am pretty sure I wouldn't be able to figure it all out!
My experience has been that God often sends angels in strange disguises. I just have to be open to recognizing them as angels!
Thank you for visiting my blog! And for the compliment! Made my afternoon! haha
I love your 'first impressions' story. Isn't that so true? Just like, 'don't judge a book by its cover'. I'm so thankful that even though we humans have a tendency to look at the outside, God is always faithful to see the HEART. Lord bless you! :)
Jessica
This is so true.
I would have spoken to my kids the same way, including the comments about the tattoos.
And yes, those heads are huge.
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