Hola readers!

I got on the plane a little tired, a little hungry, a little agitated. I'd been standing for forty or so minutes because the chairs were taken and my bags were heavy and the plane was late. I'm not a huge fan of traveling alone when I'm nervous because I have no one to talk to, and I hoped I wasn't going to sit beside someone who (like last time) instantly fell asleep in their chair as soon as they sat down.
I was still in good spirits, but of course, could have been a little better. I definitely wasn't in the best mood.

I got on the plane, putting my bag in the overhead bin and dragging my backpack behind me as I slid into my seat. I was alone for the time being as my seatmate hadn't arrived.
My stomach grumbled about its lack of food and my mouth was dry, but I'd be stubborn and refused to pay the ridiculous price for water when I'd got through security.

Time passed. An elderly lady sat near me, made polite conversation, and then went to her book once we were in the air. My stomach continued to complain loudly, and I got a granola bar out of backpack, trying to coax my stomach to quiet before everyone in the plane knew that I hadn't eaten much for lunch and it was way past supper.
I amused myself by taking pictures of the clouds, ignoring how thirsty I was as I eventually fell asleep.
I woke up to the flight attendants bringing the food around. My flight is small and they make their money by making you pay for the snacks, so like last time I leaned against the window and tried to go back to sleep.
"Excuse me."
I opened my eyes and turned to the elderly lady beside me.
"Do you want a coke or something?"
YESSS! "Um, no thank you. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
The flight attendant came up, looking down at us unexpectedly.  The lady looked at me and I think she could see that my eyes said yes and my mouth said no. "Are you sure?"
I was too thirsty to argue any longer. "OK, sure. Thanks so much!" The attendant handed me the coke. "I can pay you back," I told the elderly lady. I nodded to my bag.
"Oh no dear! You are very welcome." She smiled cheerfully.
"Thank you so much!" I repeated again. My ego wanted me to continue arguing, but a quiet whisper in my heart told me to just accept the gift.
The lady smiled and went back to her book and snack, leaving me alone with my coke and thoughts. I took a sip of the beverage. I don't normally drink soda but tonight was different.
It was kinda  piece of heaven.
Maybe just a soda, but a bigger blessing than the lady probably expected from her seemingly small gesture.
"See, I'm taking care of you," my Father whispered.

And then a thought drifted to me that I'd heard in one of my counseling lectures the other week when talking about being a light to those around us.
I looked at the lady and smiled. "You are Jesus to me," my heart said.
Maybe she wasn't a Christian - maybe she was. But she'd shown Jesus to this tired, hungry young adult who really was sad to be leaving one of her best friends, and honestly was a little miffed that she'd be getting home later than planned.
Maybe the lady had not meant to show Jesus, but she had.

And it hit me. When we show love, when we show grace or forgiveness or mercy or just a simple kindness, we are being Jesus to that person. We are showing them a piece of light. We can be Jesus to those who may never set foot in a church. We can be Jesus to the ones on the plane with us, those in line behind us in checkout. We can be Jesus in the dentist office or at work or school or on our blogs.
The Bible tells us to be imitators of Christ.
Sometimes that doesn't mean preaching or evangelizing. Sometimes that means giving a cup of cold water in His name. Sometimes that means a can of soda or a smile or a hug. Sometimes it means simply being there.
We can be a mirror of Jesus to those who may not want to get close to Him personally, a reflection of an even bigger and better thing.

The action may not seem life-changing or world-changing, but it can have lasting affects.