Quickly I pull open the glass door and step inside trying to get out of the cold. 36 degrees is too cold to be running errands. Nevertheless, here I am at the bank. Rushing to get in and out as fast as possible. As I enter the lobby I hear a booming voice.
“Welcome young lady! I hope you are having a good day.”
I glance up to see a middle aged black man dressed in a tan security guard uniform. He flashes me a smile and extends his arm waving me inside like I am royalty and he has been personally assigned to greet me. I take in his relaxed good natured stance and flash him my best toothy grin.
I fall in line behind a man wearing a Dallas Cowboys Santa hat-a unique combination of blue stars, holly, and fur. The security guard notices it too.
“How about them Cowboys this year? That Prescott boy is doing a fine job.”
The Santa hat clad customer concurs and they happily exchange pleasantries about the Cowboys’ season.
Behind me I could hear the whoosh of the door opening and closing.
“Well, young man get in here. I didn’t see you last week. How are you? Where is your big coat? I know you are a strapping young man, but you need a big coat on a day like today.”
I look to see who the security guard is pelting with questions and concern. It’s a frail elderly man in a thin windbreaker. He slowly shuffles to his place in line while the security guard gently escorts him by the elbow not leaving the old man’s side until he finds his balance once they stop.
Again the door whooshes behind me. This time it is a homeless woman shyly asking if she can have a cup of coffee from the coffee cart in the lobby. Obviously she is not a customer but the security guard silently nods toward the carafe.
“Can’t turn away someone in this kind of weather”, he says under his breath.
From across the bank a tall blonde woman emerges from behind a glass partition. She swiftly walks up to the security guard as if she is going to scold him but instead wraps her arms around him in a big bear hug. It surprises the security guard and he bashfully hugs her back. The girl in line behind me bursts out in giggles as the rest of us grin as the scene unfolds.
Glory and goodness can shine through in the most ordinary people in the most ordinary circumstances. That security guard allowed his light to shine and those of us who witnessed it were blessed. It reminds me to shine my light in my very ordinary life.