Seeing Jesus in Small, Beautiful Moments

On the occasions that my wife and I are early getting to church, I take time to reflect in silence on the past week. I think about the many blessings I have, about the times that I failed in my Christian journey, what I could have done better, or how I failed to help someone in need.

And finally, I reflect on moments where I did see Jesus that week. It's rare not to be able to find these during my moments of silence. 

Sometimes it's seeing a college student helping an elderly man out on the sidewalk downtown or seeing a couple tending to their disabled child in a stroller. 

This past week, I saw such a beautiful moment. It was very brief, but it was very moving. I had listed our 2014 camper for sale a few weeks prior online. One of the responses came from a young lady upstate. She explained that she and her husband had four girls and had loved to take them camping for years, but they always stayed in a tent (6 people in a tent??). She asked if I could hold the camper for them while they got a loan. I already had several inquiries, and I had intended to sell to the first person who showed up with a check, but I heard myself saying, "Yes, I'll hold it," over the phone. I could hear the sincerity in her voice. 

A few days later, an older model pickup came rambling up to the shop. The doors burst open the instant the vehicle stopped, and four little girls spilled out. I found out a bit later that their parents had kept the camper a secret until a few minutes before arriving, and they were beyond excited. 

While I looked over the camper with their parents, the girls were busy inside discussing whose bed was whose and peeking out the camper windows. 

As the oldest daughter stepped out of the camper, her dad caught her eye, and he did a little dance, to which his daughter followed suit. The dance was a miniature version of the "Twist," and while it only lasted a second, I saw it - the big smiles, the unspoken words between father and daughter. And in that moment, this encounter became so much more to me than a transaction. Suddenly I saw Jesus Christ in that family - in their optimism for the future, in their expressions of pure joy, in their love for one another. 

As I watched the family with their new treasure secured behind their old truck head down the drive, my eyes got a little misty. Thank you, Jesus, for showing Yourself to me today and every day. 

May I never miss that opportunity.