When you witness something beautiful, I believe it should be shared.
As I worked at a popular coffee shop, my chair was by the door, so I watched people coming and going. I am always fascinated watching people and the way they interact. What they wear, how they walk, even what they order is so interesting. I love to guess what their story is. Sometimes I think I think I can tell some of it. Other times I do get to witness a little piece of someone’s story. That is exactly what happened on this day.
I noticed a group of teenage girls order coffee and sit at a large table right in my line of sight.
It was obvious from the body language of each that one of them was an outsider…not really approved by the others. There was just a slight angle in the way their bodies were turned from her, along with more distance between their chairs and hers.
Being a teenage girl once I know well how it all looks, the eye contact, the non-spoken communication of acceptance and non-acceptance. It’s brutal, and memories and emotions poured over me like a freight train. My heart quietly broke for the outsider as I had to talk myself through the dislike of the others, even though I clearly knew nothing about them.
The outsider’s presence wasn’t acknowledged in any kind way and of course she knew it, even though she was “with” them. Eventually, trying to avoid any more humiliation, she put her headphones on and tried to drown out the crushing blow she was enduring. For some this may sound dramatic, but anyone who has been a teenage girl knows the ache.
Eventually the girls stood up to leave, while the uninvited remained seated. They made eye contact with each other and then looked at the unchosen and shrugged their shoulders. They walked out and left her sitting there. As she turned her head to watch them go, I could see and feel the tears she was attempting to hold back.
Then the beautiful thing happened. I hadn’t noticed two other teenage girls sitting across the room. They had clearly witnessed the entire event also. I watched as they walked over to the rejected and said hi. They asked if they could sit. She shook her head yes. I couldn’t hear their words, but I could tell the words were kind, loving, inquiring, and mostly said “we see you and we feel you and we care.” They smiled at each other and when they got up to leave, confirmed they would see her soon.
This moment moved me. I wish I could meet these last two girls’ parents to tell them how amazing their daughters are because, no matter what they do in this life, what they did in that seemingly small moment matters big in eternity. As scripture says, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1Cor13:2
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