Unexpected Faces
Appearances can be deceiving 
by Barbara T. Marshall

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"Where is gate E-17?", an elderly middle-eastern woman asked in broken English. She wore a long, tasteful brown dress accented by a large crimson red scarf draping over her shoulder. As I was admiring her traditional Indian clothing, I felt my eyes drifting toward the small red dot on her forehead. I wanted to take this opportunity to minister to her; to share with her the hope and joy that Jesus had given me. I thought this would surely be something new to her, something she had never heard. But then I found myself distracted by my own emotions of the day...

Dressed in my jeans, trying to be as comfortable as possible for the long twelve-hour flight ahead, I had just said goodbye to my parents. I was leaving the Netherlands, returning home to California and once again struggling to leave my family behind. I pretended to be cool; however, the goodbyes hurt so deeply, for the time between visits always seemed so long. 

"Gate E-17?", she asked again, looking somewhat puzzled.

As if suddently snapped out of a daydream, I immediately exclaimed with excitement, "That is my gate. I will take you there!" I thought how ironic it was that we both spoke different languages and English was not our first language. Yet, we were able to communicate in English, each with our own unique accent.

She seemed quite relieved to find help and a friendly face. As we slowly walked toward our gate, I contemplated how I might talk to her about Christianity and plant a seed. With all sincerity and in an effort to better understand her beliefs and culture, I addressed the obvious. I looked into her eyes while touching my own forehead and boldly asked, "Why do you have the red spot on your forehead?"

She answered, "My English is not so good".  Then while touching her head, she added, "This is Hindu; India, India, that means Hindu."

Again, I asked her what the spot on her head meant...

She shared that she got it when she was young but no longer believed in what it stood for anymore; and that she had Jesus.  As we continued to talk, I noticed she repeated Jesus’ name over and over again; and each time she said Jesus, her eyes just lit up and she smiled.  I then asked this fellow traveler, named Ramaah, how she, a woman from India, wearing her traditional clothing, and red dye on her forehead, met Jesus?

Ramaah shared with me that her son in San Francisco had shared Jesus with her. She was so excited about knowing Jesus, she was shining....SHINING! Here I was trying to minister to her, and she in her Hindu attire, ended up ministering to me!

When you feel down and struggle with saying goodbye, you can be sure that God is so amazing He can even choose to shine on us through an Indian widow, lost in an airport, who appears to be Hindu.  Remember friends, through Jesus, God will shine on us and through us, even in unexpected places, through unexpected faces, to bring clarity and to remind you of your purpose; it's not about you, it is all about Him.  When we realize this, you and I will shine.