A Little Bit Of Sunshine

This is a picture of some fresh squeezed juice. Bought by a friend after I sent her to visit the Juice Ranch while she and her husband were visiting Santa Barbara. She picked a juice called Little Miss Sunshine. When I asked her why that particular one, this was her response:

“The main reason I picked that one is because I was so overwhelmed with the choices of drinks I asked the lady that was standing in front of me who is a frequent visitor and we narrowed it down to this one, plus it’s how I feel today a little miss sunshine!”

It’s not too hard to be overwhelmed these days. There’s so much that we have to do to keep afloat each day just to survive. It’s no surprise that the responsibilities that come with following the way of Jesus often gets pushed aside.

​Kindness can be overwhelming. But it can also produce some amazing results. One simple act - like starting a conversation with a stranger - can go a long way with helping us focus on the tasks at hand. 

My friend stepped out of her comfort zone and started up a chat with a total stranger, and then took this stranger’s words to heart to make her choice. An overwhelming task became doable simply because she put her faith out there. As I type this, my friend Darlene is probably enjoying a little sunshine in her life. 

This is just a simple reminder to look for Jesus in the other. For it's in these moments we often find a refreshing surprise. Kindness. Friendship. Community. Love. Gentleness. Respect. Honesty. And a whole bunch of other stuff that makes the world a little better than before. We are all called to be ministers and pastors and priest. This is one, not-so-overwhelming way to do it.