"A Chance Encounter"

I was at the library this morning.  I usually go every few days.  I love the library.  I love the books of course, but mostly I love the library atmosphere.  

 

This morning as I was leaving I saw a woman sitting in the sun room at the entrance of the library.  It is a pretty day here in South Carolina, but the wind is overpowering the sun and it's cold.  The sun room was a lovely place to be.

 

It is not uncommon to see homeless people at the library and I find comfort in the fact that there is a safe place for them to gather.  The woman was wearing dirty clothing and had a big canvas bag at her feet.  As I got closer to her I noticed that she had a little hand mirror and she was applying lipstick.  With great care.  And my heart just melted. 

I know nothing about her, but in that instant I saw and felt her pride.  There are some things she may not be able to control, but she was trying to do what she could and I felt that. 

I have been thinking about this woman all morning.  I have been thinking about the feeling and emotion that passed between us for that instant when our eyes met. 

This woman in the library touched me and has me believing that I should try a little harder to take great care with the little things in my life too. Sometimes I get caught up in the big things that I need to fix, when sometimes, fixing a little thing is good enough.