Face to Face and Heart to Heart
Making a difference with real connections
God often gives the ideas for my writing when we travel; in fact, I pray that he does. It’s so interesting to see how those prayers unfold in these posts! I hope you enjoy these face to face and heart to heart stories.
She ambled down the snow packed trail toward us at the highway pullover stop named “Teton Glacier Overlook.” We exchanged glances and smiles and as she was alone, I offered to take her picture against the beautiful backdrop of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. She said “Sure” and her body language showed she was appreciative by quickly getting into position for the photograph.
It was a cold but sunny day and she only had on jeans, a sweater and a beanie type hat, meanwhile I’m standing there in layers of clothing, a long puffer coat, two pair of gloves with a beanie hat on as well. Though the air temperature was 22 degrees cold, her personality was warm and inviting and so I initiated a conversation with her.
“Are you a solo traveler?” I asked. “I am,” she remarked rather happily and confidently. “I do it all the time, in fact, I didn’t know this morning that this is where I would be today,” she said with a little laugh that said she even surprised herself!
“You are so brave,” I tell her in an admiring tone and she scoffs it off with a humble smile.
“What are some of your takeaways from traveling solo,” I curiously ask her and she quickly responds with these two bits of wisdom:
Don’t be afraid
Be spontaneous
“Great takeaways,” I say, affirming the lady about my age, as we stand there and continue visiting about how to get deals on hotels, her mother checking up on her and a daughter that fully expects her to be 200 miles off course at any given time.
I give her a hug as she continues on her journey and I think we’ve made each day brighter for the other. I smile to myself as she walks away.
Meanwhile, my husband has located a nearby photographer setting up his tripod and camera. He hollers over to him, “You a professional?” “Naw,” says the young guy a little embarrassed, “I’m an amateur, rebuilt this old camera from parts I’ve sourced on eBay,” he tells him. My husband who is “into” this sort of thing is all about his camera and conversation as he admires his photo equipment and setup. “Take a look through it,” the guy offers and my husband does so obligingly. See actual picture I took here:
Visiting further with the young man, he tells my husband that he develops his own film and they talk about that as my husband also has a darkroom and they talk “shop”. Sometimes, the guy we met, buys expired film but the pictures don’t always turn out he tells us. Through the course of the pleasant conversation he tells my husband he worked in a mine. It was at lunch, a little later, that my husband said he wished he’d asked him more about that job. And I’m sure that would have yielded another paragraph here if he had.
As it was our turn now to walk back up the snow packed trail to our rental car and heated seats, we commented to each other what we would have missed if we hadn’t started these conversations with two delightful people along our journey. You see, people love to talk about themselves!
So if you’re out and about, don’t be afraid to start up a conversation with someone new, you might just learn something or be able to teach them something in the transaction.
You might be a blessing to them and they might just bless you!
But, you will never know until you start the conversation.
Here’s the thing: We really need to get back to talking to people again face to face.
Afterall, it’s what Jesus did!
He talked face to face with his disciples, along the road and in the temples. He talked face to face in people’s homes and in a boat and standing around various lakes. Jesus knew the value of seeing the people and people seeing him and even more importantly He knew the eternal message of love he was bringing to them.
And you know what?
As Jesus’ disciples, we have the awesome privilege and responsibility of carrying his message of hope and salvation to people also.
Consider this face-to-face encounter Jesus had with a Samaritan woman found in John 4:7-26:
A Samaritan woman came to fetch water. Jesus said to her, “Please could you give me a drink?” for his disciples had gone to the town to buy food.
“You’re a Jew, and I’m a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” the woman replied, for Jews don’t associate with Samaritans.
Jesus answered her, “If you only recognized God’s gift, and who is asking you, ‘Please could you give me a drink?’ you would have asked him and he would have given you the water of life.”
“Sir, you don’t have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get the water of life from?” she replied.
“Our father Jacob gave us the well. He drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock. Are you greater than he?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks water from this well will become thirsty again.
But those who drink the water I give won’t ever be thirsty again. The water I give becomes a bubbling spring of water inside them, bringing them eternal life.”
“Sir,” replied the woman, “Please give me this water so I won’t be thirsty, and I won’t have to come here to fetch water!”
“Go and call your husband, and come back here,” Jesus told her.
“I don’t have a husband,” the woman answered. “You’re right in saying you don’t have a husband,” Jesus told her.
“You’ve had five husbands, and the one you’re living with now is not your husband. So what you say is true!”
“I can see you’re a prophet, sir,” the woman replied.
“Tell me this: our ancestors worshiped here on this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is where we must worship.”
Jesus replied, “Believe me the time is coming when you won’t worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
You really don’t know the God you’re worshiping, while we worship the God we know, for salvation comes from the Jews.
But the time is coming—and in fact it’s here already—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for these are the kind of worshipers the Father wants.
God is Spirit, so worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “Well, I know that the Messiah is coming,” (the one who is called Christ). “When he comes he will explain it all to us.”
Jesus replied, “I AM—the one who is speaking to you.”
So much can be said about this story about the Samaritan woman here that could write many posts and preach many sermons, but for today, let’s make special note of this:
Her face-to-face encounter with Jesus changed her and her entire life!
Face to face…and heart to heart.
And, friend, He can change your heart and life too!
Will you pray this with me?
Dear Lord Jesus,
May we not only see you but encounter you in our lives.
May we read your words and truly hear them in our hearts.
May we receive you, your promises and your blessings.
May we too be changed and want to tell others!
Amen
Journal Prompts:
Write about a trip you took and anything that surprised you about God’s creation.
Write about a time God showed up in your life unexpectantly.
Write about how you can tell others about Jesus. Then list 2 people you can pray for and share Jesus with them.
I hope this post has touched your heart in a gentle way today.
Until next time sweet friends,
Brooke
I loved reading this, Brooke! The way you captured those small, spontaneous interactions is beautiful and shows just how meaningful they can be. It’s so easy to rush past moments like that, but when we stop and connect, even through something as as simple as offering to take a photo, it can really uplift our experience. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you for these words❤️May God protect all of us