Today I was having a horrible day. First I woke up and was agitated right off the bat by one of my friends who was slurping away at her breakfast. Just sip like a lady! Then, I went to my first class where I sit next to another one of my friends, who is one of the smartest women I know, but she mumbles all the time and has almost zero sense of humor. Talking to her is unbelievably frustrating. And all of this happened in the first few hours of my morning, which sets the tone for the rest of your day. It's kind of like when you wake up and it's cloudy and gray outside, and no matter how sunny or beautiful the rest of the day becomes, to you, it's been gloomy all day long.
I came back to my house, where I opened an email to discover that after finally being appointed to a leadership position on campus, after trying and trying and trying and failing and failing and failing, one of the biggest douchebags (sorry for my language) I have ever known was also given a spot on the same team. He lives to be the center of attention, mercilessly flirt with every girl in the room, and even though technically every single one of us is another one of God's greatest gifts, he makes it a point to make sure no one forgets he is one of God's G R E A T E S T gifts -- with his pompous, self-serving, narcissistic, and vainglorious lifestyle. And that really sent me into a tailspin.
The morning kept getting worse and worse, so I decided I needed to get out on the town. I hit my G6 and went errand-running all over Lawrence. I went to Target and the post office and finally decided to get a little Vitamin D and hit up the tanning bed. As I pulled in, I was looking to pay, get in a bed, lock the door, put on my goggles, lay in the heat, listen to the Top 40 radio, and walk out the door. But, glory to God, that's not what happened.
The young lady at the open cash register was named Andy, and it was her first day working at this particular tannery. She was so cute and talkative and chatty -- she was exactly the type of person I needed at that particular moment. After a while, I discovered that it was her first day on the job -- which ended up being a hilarious experience. I gave her my credit card and she didn't know how to swipe it. I told her I had never been to that tanning salon before, and she said, "Aw shucks!! I'm going to have to give you a salon tour and I've never given a salon tour before! Let me print out a script really quick, or believe me, I will forget everything." I handed her my driver's license, which she needed a copy of, and she said to me, "You've just witnessed me make my first copy here!"
She was God revealing himself to me through her. I had gone this entire morning feeling lost and lonely, and then I walked into a tanning salon, of all places, and had the most amusing exchange with a total stranger, that completely turned my day around. We need to look for God in new places. We need to know how strongly he wants to reach out to us, he desperately seeks to be in a relationship with each and every one of his people.
I do not want to sound like an ingrate, or someone who is complaining about things that are vain or petty, because I know how lucky I am. I can recognize that as discontented and miserable as I was this morning is not anywhere near how discontented and miserable some people are in other parts of the world, but I also know that no matter where we are -- physically, mentally, or spiritually -- God will find us.
Thankyou, Andy, for teaching me a valuable lesson. God reveals himself in others. Especially when you're feeling down and out -- he will always come around. With him there is sunshine even in the most dank of caverns.
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