It had been a long week for me. So, I decided to reward myself with a relaxing manicure and pedicure, a mani-pedi as we call it. I leaned back in the recliner, placed my feet in the warm water, and began to feel the tension ease out of my body.

Suddenly a group of three young women flurried into the salon. They began to talk loudly, disrupting my calm in the salon. Their language was loud and coarse with curses. My judgmental self leaped forward. I came here to relax, I thought. I wish they would be quiet.

Their laughter and loud language continued. Finally, one of the young women asked the other to do her a favor.

The friend said, “Of course, I will.” 

She turned to the third woman and said, “Let me tell about this woman.”  She then pointed to her friend. “Of course, I will do her a favor. She will do anything for anybody. She will give you the shirt off her back. One day when I was broke, she had ten dollars, and she gave me five. She helps children; she helps her neighbors.”  Her accolades continued ending with a hug from her friend.

I sat back in awe of what I was hearing. I felt shame creeping into my consciousness. I had been judging these young women based on their language and behavior. Then, I felt God stepped right in to teach me a lesson that I remember until this day. 

Love, friendship, and caring are not reserved for those who speak and act differently. And I thought about John 15:13,  “No one greater than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Shared by Denise Kaalund