“A Lady Who Knows Beans” (02/09/2025)

I had promised my husband chili for the cold weekend, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, early Saturday morning, I went to the market to stock up. I found my way to the canned vegetables, specifically, to the canned beans. There was a man there with a piece of paper in his hand and the most confused look on his face. I didn’t want to interrupt his shopping, so I tried to get to the specific beans I needed without disturbing his search. Suddenly he spoke to me. “You look like a lady who knows beans.”

I must admit that it caught me off guard. I had to think a second or two before responding. “You need help?” I asked. He showed me his list. It was his mother’s recipe for chili. “She passed, so I can’t call her with questions,” he told me. “I didn’t know there were so many kinds of beans,” he confessed to me. I helped him find the beans on his mother’s recipe. He thanked me, and then he was on his way to the meat department. And I grabbed the cans of pinto and kidney beans I’d come for and headed to the check out.

As I got in my car, my exchange with the man came to mind. I must admit, it was one of the most unusual I’ve ever had. But it was also one of the most affirming. Who knew that being identified as “a lady who knows beans” was a compliment? I thanked the LORD for the exchange, for my “look” that made me approachable and appear knowledgeable. I thanked the LORD for the gentle reminder of the multiple struggles we all face in life and the opportunity to accompany another on the journey even if for a short time. I said a prayer that his chili turned out well.

Last evening, as I ended my day in reflection, I remembered the man in search of the right beans. I thanked the LORD again for being in the right place at the right time. I also asked the LORD to help me remain approachable to others on the journey.

Companioning others on the Way is part of our journey. We must keep our eyes on Christ, but we also must be present to those around us, open to their needs in the moment, willing to help one another as best we can. Most of the time, what we are asked is inconsequential, a minor thing. Let us be patient on the way, recognizing that the “bump” was not a deviation from the journey but actually part of it.

St. John said it well: “If anyone says, ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20) and “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” (1 John 4:11-12).

May we go forward this day and all days, loving our LORD with all our being and loving one another as He calls us to love.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.