Sacred Moments in Casual Clothes
True connection happens when we slow down long enough to appreciate funny moments, a waitress who comes to the rescue and even the gentle ribbing from a friend.
Rereading the following memory from 2010 about my buddy Shawn reminded me how friendship often resides in the smallest exchanges. It wasn’t a milestone birthday or a profound conversation – just two friends at a restaurant, one daring the other to try something new.
Shawn passed away in 2022. When I remember him now, it's rarely the big events that surface first in my mind, but rather, these ordinary slices of life when we simply enjoyed being in each other’s company.
*****
“If you eat one of my wings,” Shawn said, “I’ll watch whatever movie you want.”
“They look weird, and I can’t imagine they’ll taste any better.”
“Just give it a try. Try something new.”
“I rarely like anything new.”
“Just try it.”
Buffalo Wild Wings had recently begun offering a dry rub on wings. It looked like someone rubbed red powder all over them, but the thought of Shawn being subject to any movie in my collection was too much of a temptation to pass up.
I reached over, picked up a wing and bit into it. Several things happened simultaneously.
First, some of the dry rub fell on my shirt. Dropping food on my shirt is nothing new. I have a reputation for doing it. But this time, it really wasn’t my fault. Is it even possible to keep powdered food from falling on your shirt?
Second, the dry rub was hot. I don’t do super hot food, so, with my mouth hanging open, I started whispering “Ha, ha, ha,” and no, I wasn't laughing, but Shawn was. I was low on Diet Coke, but thankfully, a waitress saved the day by bringing another one.
After Shawn called me a wuss – because we were tight like that – my right eye began to burn. Then it really began to burn. Somehow, the powder not only fell downward on my shirt, but in that one bite, it also drifted upward into my eye.
I had to work that night, covering a tennis event for a local magazine, and I envisioned walking into the auditorium with a red eye and having people wonder all sorts of things about me.
Not only had the new thing not been something I enjoyed but it actually burned my mouth and caused collateral damage to parts of the rest of my body. And that’s why I don’t try new things.
*****
As I look back now, I realize sacred moments often come when wearing casual clothes. In our hurried world, true connection happens when we slow down long enough to appreciate funny moments, a waitress who comes to the rescue and even the gentle ribbing from a friend.
Here are some tidbits you might find interesting this week:
Loved this sentiment from Sara Hagerty’s article about Holy Saturday: “In my childhood memory, we spent the afternoon of Good Friday in silence. Lights off, no television, radio, or CDs—a fast of sorts, reminding us that this was no typical Friday afternoon.”
“When one bears suffering faithfully, God is glorified and honored.” —Billy Graham
This is good insight from Jonathon M. Seidl: “Friend, in our liminal spaces—the scary in-betweens—God has promised to be there. He is there. I’ve met him there. And he’s turned my ‘scared’ into ‘sacred.’ He’s switched the letters.”
"The degree of blessing we experience depends on the degree of our surrender." —A. W. Tozer
Here are 16 Holy Week Prayers.
When Lee isn’t writing essays, devotional books, or Christian fiction, he is a freelance editor, as well as a freelance journalist who has written hundreds of articles for various newspapers and magazines. He’s also a fan of NASCAR, baseball, tennis, books, movies and coffee shops.
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