Now That's Loving People

This morning I met with my mentor for "coffee" (I have to use quotes, since I'm never the one partaking in any coffee.) I love her! She is wise and fun and funny and bold, etc. I'll just leave it at that for now. This morning she showed me a glimpse of how to love people, and not in a way you'd probably expect.

There were already a bunch of people in line when a woman walked in with black pants and a black and white shirt. She looked nice. After a moment, my mentor commented on how the woman had a big ol' mark on her pants and that someone needed to tell her about it. Oh gosh... I always feel awkward doing that. She said that she would tell the woman when she walked by, and then went on talking. A few seconds later, though, she just couldn't handle it. She walked over to the woman in line and explained the situation. The woman in line seemed appreciative and proceeded to the rest room. Right when my mentor sat down again, she said, "now that's loving people."

It's so true! That woman had no clue that she had a mark on her pants, and she could have made it through the whole day without anyone telling her. Others may have commented all day about her and she would have been the talk of the office, which would have been terrible and embarrasing. But instead, a stranger took the opportunity to care for her and tell her about the mark. I need to get better about telling people when they have food in their teeth or mascara on the side of their face or toilet paper hanging out of their pants (like that really ever happens). It is a way of caring for people and loving them.

After getting her coffee the woman came over to thank my mentor for saying something. Apparently the mark came off really easily and her black pants were completely black once again. I'm thankful for the opportunity to observe people loving each other in "normal" circumstances.