“Are you one of the lucky ones who has to work on Black Friday, Brenda?” I asked the gal behind the service desk.

“Yes.”

“Well, I suppose you all have to,” I suggested.

“Yes, we do,” Brenda replied. “I have to be here at 6:30.”

“Really?!” I was surprised, but not really, so we chatted a bit about how Thanksgiving has turned into such a major shopping event.

“At least you’re not working on Thanksgiving,” I continued.

She agreed and I was able to finish our conversation by saying a little bit about the meaning of Thanksgiving and by offering her a tract, which she accepted.

* * * * * * *

I was shopping on Wednesday and had a similar conversation with four saleswomen. One I didn’t give a tract to. Three I did. Of the three, one was very interested. So much so, that I even went back into the store and gave her my business card, encouraging her to contact me. Another was even more enthusiastic and may be interested in learning more about our ministry with Cru. We have a tentative plan to get together in January.

I wanted to encourage you to be willing to use Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as starting points for conversation with the people around you. Most are willing to engage in a little friendly chat. In fact, you may very well be a cup of refreshing water to someone who’s been ignored or has listened to complaints during her work day.

Smile. Look into their eyes and use their name. Doing this will be as much a blessing to you as it is to them. It’s really more fun to turn my “running errands day” into a witnessing day. If you’re warm and friendly and genuinely interested in who you’re talking with, they will most likely accept a tract or whatever you offer in the way of Good News.

Do you share your faith when running errands? I’d love to hear your stories, too.

NOTES:

• You might enjoy reading this post by Cru staff, Gary Runn, Leading by Naming, who takes a biblical look at the importance of using names with people, mainly for leaders, but it’s important for all of us to do.
• This badge is available on psdGraphics.