Rarely am I caught off guard these days by a man. To be honest, it has been a very hard year in that arena and I feel as though my expectation and certainly my hope has waned. I was just surprised by a total stranger tonight. Shocked, really.
My friend and I were enjoying a little sushi, having abandoned our plans for a lakeside picnic with others who were all busy. We watched a movie that neither of us enjoyed and redeemed that a bit by heading out for dinner at a spot we both love. Our conversation looped from desiring to see some individuals we know experience redemption, then turned a corner closer to home where we explored what redemption means in some present personal realities.
Early in our time there a guy walked by and as he did so, inquired as to the type of roll I ordered saying something about how amazing it looked. I confirmed that it was indeed fabulous and he kept walking toward the door. We turned our attention back to the story at hand forgetting the interruption, delving once again into her story and process.
She and I reached a point in our dialogue where we were talking about what it means to walk in the truth and recognize that living in it fully can take time. At that point, the same guy came up to our booth, leaned on its side and wanted to know if we would mind him posing a question. He was perfectly charming and warm.
Smiling, he made a statement about grace then asked, "Do you believe the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin?"
"Yes," I replied.
"You do?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you know that no where in the Bible does it talk about the Spirit convicting us of sin... It says that the Spirit convicts the world of sin..." then I joined him, "...of righteousness and of judgement" we finished; we were both smiling and I was nodding my head.
He went on to share more on what he had learned about grace, the meaning of repentance and what is required of us when it comes to forgiveness. Our dialogue lasted a whole three minutes maximum (and included me quoting more Scripture alongside him), but I was super impressed with this guy. He was so kind and interesting. I loved that he wasn't afraid to approach a couple of strangers and add to our dialogue. What he offered was such a blessing to my friend in that moment and many of the things he said have kept me thinking since I left the restaurant.
As we wrapped our brief conversation, he began to walk away and I noticed a take-out box in his hand.
"Did you get the volcano roll?" I asked.
"I got everything..." he said, smiling.
I had a fleeting thought of asking his name, but chickened out. He walked out the door and I just sat there with the stupidest look on my face--I couldn't stop smiling. My friend quickly said, "Go get his number!" I couldn't make myself...
Thinking of it now, I wish I would have asked for his name. It's not everyday that you meet a handsome, charming, warm, engaging guy who obviously loves Jesus and is willing to come over and start a somewhat deep conversation with the lightest air to it with you. I kept telling my friend that he reminded me of someone famous... Yep, Gerard Butler. Google the name for a pic. That's the guy I met tonight--at least the local, Jesus-loving version of him.
Walking to our cars, we realized that we had no idea where he came from after he walked to the door initially--it seemed like he reappeared out of thin air. Puzzled, we decided he may have been an angel. Our Gerard Butler angel.
My friend is officially praying that I run into him again. I don't think I'd mind it if that happened...
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