“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11
Do you remember the last time that you walked into a setting in which you knew nobody? Can you recall what that felt like?
Being a stranger can be nerve-racking and oh so uncomfortable. Over the past few years of travel nursing, I have moved around quite frequently and with each move I have come face to face with this awkward feeling in nearly every direction I turn. A new job, a new church, a new coffee shop…the list goes on.
Looking back on these experiences now, do you know what stands out to me the most? It’s not that nervous feeling of walking in the doors for the first time, or standing at the nurses station on day one of a new job just waiting to be noticed and guided in the right direction. It was the people who met me in those spaces.
It was the group of girls who invited me to their “Galentine’s Day” dinner within a month of me relocating to North Carolina. It was Kailey not only greeting me with kindness at the front doors of the church, but going beyond that, in inviting me to grab a cup of coffee with her in the coming week. It was Alysha inviting me to join she and her friends on a zoom call about Jesus after having only worked one shift with her. It was Alfred meeting me at the nurses station and asking who I was and showing me to the break room on the unit before introducing me to the nurse that I was paired with for my first day. It is all of the people who have invited me to join in their adventures, their family holiday dinners, and their game nights. This is what I remember about those moments.
Time after time, I have been met in a space of unknowns and uncertainty by the kindness of people.
Have you ever pointed someone in the right direction or asked a stranger a few questions, even as simple as “Where are you from?” or “What do you do?” Of the times that you have done things such as these, how often to you go back and think about those encounters? Maybe hardly ever, but most likely never! My point is that these people all met me with the smallest acts of kindness; the smallest acts which changed my entire experience. They formed memories that I still carry with me today by small acts in which they have probably never thought twice about.
Growing up I was always taught that strangers are scary and to keep my distance. Was that probably best for my safety? Yes. But as I’ve grown up and as I have been that stranger, my desire to meet someone in that space of uncertainty and newness has grown immensely.
I want to encourage you today to step out of the comfort zone of limiting your interactions to those you know, and to step into the uncomfortable shoes of that nearby stranger. Is it the person behind you in line at the grocery store? Maybe the barista at the coffee shop? Or take a moment to spot the first-timer at your church… I promise, we aren’t hard to pick out!
Remember, your smallest act of kindness or slightest hint of intentionality can entirely change someone’s experience. Take that chance today.
