Commuting Conversations

"Commuters" CC BY 2.0 by Oatsy40 Source: Flickr.

           A while back, at the end of a very long day, I was on one of those every-seat-is-full long commutes. This suited me fine; I had a book and a water bottle, and expected to read until arriving at my destination.

            Then the person next to me started chatting.

            We've all been there: that moment or two when we can't decide if we want to smile nicely and open the book, or engage in the proffered conversation.

            A few sentences in, it was apparent that my book was not coming out. My seat companion, having asked what I do to for a living, was suddenly very keen to discuss religion. She had, it turned out, had a return to faith some ten years earlier, and now it was a big part of her life.

            We had the most exhilarating discussion! We chatted faith, church, God, grace, redemption, prayer, baptism, different traditions... It was lovely. Casual, faith-based, Spirit-led conversation. We chatted so much about religion that the lady next to us joined in - she was 92 and said she hadn't been to church in years, but after hearing our enthusiasm for it, she would try again.

            Oh wow.

            I then asked my companion when she had last spoken with a stranger about faith - she said it was not one of her common discussion topics! But the more we spoke, the more energised we both became.

            After I got home, I wondered how often people have conversations about their faith - with strangers, with friends, with colleagues. Do we share our faith, or do we hide it? Do we invite our friends to join us at church, or do we merely assume they would not want to come and worship? Are we open to letting the Spirit into our social lives, or are we hesitating behind fear?

            I am glad that God put this person in my life that day. She blessed me with our conversation, and it continues to lighten my heart. It has reminded me to seek out opportunities to speak about God - mindful of that fine line between sharing and oversharing. I pray that we all meet someone who inspires us to share our faith with all those we encounter.  It is, after all, the Good News that we're called to proclaim!