I stood in the cosmetics department trying to decide between "Stormy Pink," a frosted lipstick with peach undertones, and "Fairest Nude," a neutral creme that looked particularly yummy. On the one hand, frosted lipstick might feel light and summery, but on the other hand, the neutral creme would go with anything. Hmmm, I already have about five frosties, and I could USE a muted color..but I don't know.
"Are you trying to find lipstick?" a male voice with a distinctly foreign accent asked from somewhere nearby.
Startled, I looked up to see a man.
A man in the lipstick aisle.
Talking to me.
Honestly, I was taken aback. I felt instantly offended and shocked.
First of all: A random man, talking to me.
Second of all: In Cosmetics. If I'd been in the produce aisle, I still would have been weirded out. But here, in the makeup area? Oh no, this is not right.
The man stood there, looking at me.
My mind raced. This guy is obviously not from here. Doesn't he know that men don't talk to women in stores? Doesn't he know that the cosmetic department is sacred? Doesn't he know that strangers don't talk to women about lipstick? (Unless you're a woman and you see another woman's lipstick that is really, really pretty. THEN you can ask her about it. In this case it would be a compliment.) (This is an entirely different scenario.)
"No," I said, jamming Stormy Pink into its spring-loaded display case. I could see he did not have a store badge. Was he trying to practice his English? Was he hitting on me? I'm well past the age of being hit on, but maybe in his country this kind of thing is acceptable?
I turned and exited the aisle, still puzzled by the brief exchange between this foreigner and me. So odd!
And then just like a bombshell had gone off, in my mind I pictured another exchange...this one between a woman getting water from well, and a foreigner named Jesus, who broke cultural taboos to speak with her.
Didn't Jesus know that men didn't talk to women? Didn't he know that the well was a sacred "woman space?"
The woman was taken aback by Jesus words to her. It must have been far worse than a man talking to her in the lipstick aisle. And when He offered to give her water so that she'd never again be thirsty, her shock turned to intrigue.
(Now, if my stranger-dude had offered me lipstick that I'd never have to re-apply, this analogy would have been perfect. Say no more, mister, I'm sold!)
In that moment, I had a sharp realization that Jesus was someone who shook things up in his world. He took what was expected, what was "normal," what was status-quo...and turned it on its ear.
Jesus was full of surprises.
He talked to women at wells. He let children sit on his lap. He touched lepers. He healed people on (gasp!) the Sabbath. He said things like, "The first shall be last," and "Blessed are the poor." He didn't come to establish an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one.
Jesus met people in marketplaces, in temples, by lake shores, on mountainsides, along pathways, and at parties given by sinners. He brought the kingdom of God to everyday people. He didn't care where or how or who...His message took the earth by surprise.
I went back to grab Stormy Pink after I made sure the man who'd invaded my space was no longer around. So what if I had five other similar frosted shades? I needed this one.
Because this one would remind me that Jesus can show up at any moment, to remind me of a story in scripture, or to speak truth to me, or to show me something. He might surprise or shock me with His ideas and methods, but that's just how He seems to do things.
You just never know where you're going to encounter Him.
It might even be in the lipstick aisle.
How about you? Have you ever been surprised by how God has spoken to you? Have you ever been shocked by scripture? Has something ever caught you by surprise, and then become an object lesson in your life?
