Strangers

     I know that we need to keep our kids (and ourselves) safe, but have we taken "stranger danger" to an extreme?  Are we so afraid to step out of our box and speak to strangers that we are missing out?  How do we strike a balance between speaking to strangers and keeping safe?  I don't know the answers, but I was glad that I welcomed two strangers into my world this week.

     The first stranger was a customer in the store where I work.  I don't often interact with the customers due to the nature of my job, but during the holidays I spend less time time doing "my" job and more time on the sales floor.  I was on a ladder when I sneezed.  I don't have a tiny little sneeze...I have been known to wake my family when I sneeze.  A customer gave me a "bless you" and I apologized in case I startled her.  We had a silly conversation about sneezes that made me smile.  You know that you have met one of your people she tells that if she is going to pee when she sneezes, the sneeze should be a big one!

     The second stranger that I met was during a tornado warning.  We don't have a safe place in our house during storms, but we live close to our church, which has a basement.  D and I grabbed the dog, Pink Bear, and Mrs. Hannon and headed to our church to wait out the storm.  There was another car in the parking lot.  I invited the lady in her car in to share our shelter.  As we waited out the storm, we chatted.  She shared with me the story of her miraculous healing from cancer.  After being told there wasn't much hope or many treatment options left for her, her husband had a dream that she was cured.  She had a PET scan done.  The scan showed that her tumor, which at the end of her radiation and chemo was still the size of a small ball, was completely gone.  She has been completely cancer free for almost 16 years.  Her doctors couldn't explain it, but she could...she received a miracle.

     Two strangers.  Two completely different conversations, but both left me with a smile.  All because I stepped out of my box and opened myself to a conversation with a stranger.  Maybe it's time to open myself up more to strangers and let them into my world.