It's a "smile" world afterall

We met a few weeks ago in a Food Court. He was on a lunch break sitting by himself. I greeted him in Arabic. He greeted me in English. We smiled. I introduced him to Lori and Daniel and told him in my broken Arabic that, in addition to Daniel, we had three daughters. He smiled. He said he also had three daughters and one son. I smiled. I praised his English and asked where he learned to speak it so well. He said he studied Engineering in Texas. I smiled. He asked me where I was from. I told him I was born in Texas. He smiled.

After I received some complimentary Arabic tips, we exchanged mobile numbers. We agreed that we should meet sometime over coffee when we had more time to continue my free lesson. We smiled.

“Sometime” was Sunday evening. We met at Starbucks. The conversation was natural, effortless, and most enjoyable. The Arabic “tutorial” only lasted about 20 minutes as we began to talk about life – family, sports, work, beliefs. He said sports was a big part of his life. I told him that there was a time when sports was my life. I shared my story. I told him how I started following Jesus at a sports camp. I explained that I am still following Him today, and that He led us to this city.

We shook hands at about 11:00 p.m. Before we parted, we agreed that we should get our families together – perhaps for a little BBQ in the desert under the stars. We smiled again.

How do two people – separated by thousands of miles all these years – “find” each other and discover we have so much in common? Only God knows. How is it possible to form an instant friendship with someone whose beliefs are so different? Only God knows. Smile!