Strawberries and a Canteloupe

With cloudy sky cover and a breeze blowing off the water, it smelled and felt like a summer morning at the beach. Jessica, Rachel, and I pedaled our bikes leisurely down the river trail, enjoying the occasional patches of sunlight and the constant joy of each other's company and conversation. 

"It's Tuesday, which means the farmers market will be open downtown," I suddenly remembered. "Let's check it out," Rachel added with enthusiasm. So we ventured over to the river market in search of some fresh fruit, only to find some divine appointments waiting for us there as well. 

The large open market pavilion was empty except for one lonely vender with a table full of fresh produce, but no customers in sight. "Good morning!" We greeted her as we unclipped our pedals and removed our helmets. We introduced ourselves and found out her name was Kelly, so we struck up a small conversation about her delicious-looking goods and then began to ask her about her farm and her work. She graciously let us try some of her strawberries, and she even cut up a cantaloupe for us to taste test. As we oohed and aahed over the fruit, juice ran down our arms, and she smiled with delight as she dug through her supplies and handed us each a wipe. 

We bought a pint of strawberries and a cantaloupe, and she let us borrow her knife to cut it up. When she saw us putting the cantaloupe slices into a wal mart sack, she quickly offered us a ziplock plastic bag.  I think she enjoyed our company, and we enjoyed hers. We stayed and talked with her at her stand for a long time. She acted almost pleasantly surprised at us, as if we weren't like other customers. Maybe it was because we weren't in a hurry, and we took an interest in her and her business. 

"Kelly, it was great to meet you today!" I said, "and thank you so much for the fruit...and the wipes...and the knife...and the bag!" We all laughed. "You took good care of us." 

"See you next Tuesday," Kelly exclaimed as we rode off and waved. 

"Yes! See you next Tuesday!" Rachel said. "Blessings!"

And a new friend was made.

We took our fresh, locally-grown strawberries and cantaloupe over the the park and found a grassy, shady spot to sit. We consumed the entire pint of strawberries and half the cantaloupe before our stomaches could hold no more. So we mounted our bikes and went on a search for someone to bless with the other half of our cantaloupe. 

That's when we met Archie. He was sitting by himself on a bench by the road. To be honest, we might not have even noticed him if we hadn't been looking. "Good morning, sir," I said as we unclipped once again and got off our bikes. We just bought the most delicious cantaloupe, but we can't finish it. We thought maybe you could help us out." Before I could even finish my sentence, a huge smile spread across his face, and he reached for the bag eagerly and nodded his head. 

We continued to talk to Archie as he ate the entire other half of the cantaloupe, piece by piece until there was none left. He held the curved orange slices up to his face, and I thought they reminded me a lot of his smile. We learned a lot about him, and he graciously thanked us for the cantaloupe, saying it made his day. "Well, the Lord gave us the best cantaloupe we have ever eaten today, and we wanted to bless you with it, too." We explained. "Consider it a gift from the Lord." He really liked that. 

With that, we biked back up the river, thanking God for our new friends, Kelly and Archie. Hopefully we will see them again. I have a good feeling we will.

On Sunday, I heard a sermon preached on John 9, the story where Jesus heals the the man born blind. Jesus had a habit of seeing people that most people don't see, and instead of passing them by, he always stopped to help. Our pastor encouraged us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to look for people that may be invisible in the eyes of our culture, and to embrace every moment to see them and love them.

I used to wonder what that looks like in real life, but now I think I understand it a little better. It looks like being intentional (even on a liesurely bike ride), learning the names of the people you meet, and searching out people who may go unnoticed by most. It looks like genuinely caring about their lives and welfare, engaging in conversation, and mentioning the name of Jesus. It looks like stopping to buy strawberries or share a cantaloupe. It looks like Kelly and Archie.