On Monday, Will sent me flowers. For no reason. Again. I was left speechless (Yes, for those who know me, he is currently the only person who can have this rare effect on me.), but once I regained my words I called him and showed (what I hope was) the appropriate amount of gratitude for his ongoing thoughtfulness and kindness towards me. So, I hope that he won't mind my using his gift to me to make a greater point.
I discovered these surprise flowers on Monday afternoon as I was just returning to my office after visiting one of our schools to see a very deserving faculty member receive an award funded by the Foundation (please make your gift today). It had been one of those "THIS is why I do what I do" moments at work and as the day was winding down I didn't think it could get much better. Until I walked in the front door of the Board of Education and one of my colleagues greeted me with "Girl! I have GOT to meet this beau of yours!" I found this to be a strange greeting, as I had not been discussing Will with her recently...or ever. She must have seen my confused face because she continued with "He's been showin' out again!" I laughed and asked her what she meant ("showin' out" seems to be a term w/ which I am not familiar but perhaps means "showing off"), and she just smiled and said "oh I just put a little something from him in your office. I keep seeing these things he's doing for you and I need to meet him!" I then rounded the corner into my office and found my surprise.
In the days since receiving the flowers almost every female employee in the building has come by to comment on them or ask about them. This has allowed me to talk about Will, brag on him a little bit, and have all the ladies in the office be excited about him. Which has been fun, but also thought-provoking and a bit convicting.
My initial colleague's response has been ringing in my head all week. "He's been showin' out again!" "I need to meet him!" These are words she is speaking about my boyfriend. Based on things she can tangibly see him doing in my life. For some reason it made me start to wonder what she, or anyone else I encounter, would say about my God?
Would they be able to look at my life and say "Man! God's been showin' out again! I can visibly see His work in your life! I need to meet him!" What are the "flowers" in my life that people can see and that cause them to inquire more about the giver of these good gifts? Do I treat people differently because of the way God lavishes His love upon me? Is my countenance different as I recall all the ways God has "showed out" in my life? Some days, maybe. But many days, not.
God's given me many gifts and all of them have been for no reason, or undeserved by me. But do I proudly display them in my life, like a bouquet of flowers on my desk, so that people will have no choice but to ask me about them? I hope that increasingly my answer to that is "yes."
