Musings on a Stranger

Yesterday morning I was on my way to check out a church in downtown Vancouver. I had plans to meet my friend Jacqui downtown and go on to the church with her. I took the Skytrain downtown and as I stepped off the train with a group of other people and made my way out of the tunnel to the street, I couldn't help but notice a certain man in the group. He must've been in his late 20's, he was quite tall, and he was whistling-not at all softly-and it was resounding through the tunnel. I noticed other people looking at him too as he whistled. There was a spring in his walk and he bounded up the escalator steps 2 at a time. I kept up with him and once we reached the street, he went a different route than I and I was simply thinking, "Wow, he seems to be upbeat this morning." It's not often you see people walk around Vancouver like that. I went to meet Jacqui and we headed to church together. We found our pew and as we were singing in the first few minutes of the service, I looked over at the pew across the aisle from me and there was the man I saw at the Skytrain station, sitting alone and just singing. I thought back to my impressions of him, and to realize that he carried himself with that enthusiasm on his way to church made me smile. And I couldn't help but think, "How often do I carry myself to church with a hurried, upbeat anticipation like that?"

I believe there are always things happening around you which you can learn from... if you're looking for it.