david and a girl

a young 23 year-old woman is roaming the streets of seattle. more specifically, pike's place market and the surrounding area. with each step she observantly takes everything in: the fishy air, produce stands, vibrant floral displays, cobblestone roads covered in bubble gum, armpits that smell of chicken noodle soup and feet that smell like butthole, the kind disposition of the woman at the information kiosk, and the multitude of languages buzzing in her ear. 

she wanders into a quaint little bookstore. it's called lion heart bookstore. like many others who have walked through the faded door, she befriends david. a man with a beautiful heart and passion for life. david tells her that life should really be more simple than it is. we over complicate it. all we need is someone to wake up to in the morning that can tell us how beautiful, lovely, and amazing we are. all we want is to love and be loved. we deserve to hold and be held. we should have someone to make us chicken soup when we're sick. he told her his parents' love story (they met while ballroom dancing). he talked about the ways in which society makes women feel incapable of being mathematicians or unable to hold jobs that men would typically hold. he's proud of his sisters for defying those stereotypes. he then flowered her with compliments and told her to send lion heart a post card so that they could add it to their collection. 

what david probably didn't know was that the girl was on the verge of tears for she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. david probably didn't know that at times she feels so broken because of her sinful nature but unable to talk about it because she is a Christian, therefore, her life should be perfect because she has Jesus. so she hides behind her smile. what david probably didn't know is that he turned her day around. his words were the encouragement that she needed as she dodged the city buses and embraced the blisters on her feet to make it back to the seatac airport. 

what the girl probably doesn't know, but wishes she did, is his backstory. does david have love in his life? does david have Jesus?has he had his heart broken like so many of those who have walked in and out of his bookstore? does david know the feeling of being wanderlust? he seems like a simple man with a big beautiful heart. a heart that is self-less and full of compassion. a heart that is humbled and full of so much life. the heart of a man who commits his life to making others feel loved. she wishes she had had the courage to ask david about his faith, but she was too afraid. but the girl wonders why society is incapable of such love? 

it seems that even those who do walk with Christ, lack love in varying relationships. we're all so guarded. so broken. so vulnerable. so afraid. it's easiest to shut people out in order to protect ourselves. but are we really living when we do that? 

david's spirit was encouraging and uplifting. we need to be more loving towards strangers. we don't know their stories. we don't know why they yelled at the flight attendant or were salty about their blueberry muffin being taken away from TSA. we don't know why they cut in line or stood up in a hurry on the airplane to deplane. we don't know why they are on the streets asking for money or how they became the person who power washes the gum off the gum wall. those people could be feeling just as broken and lost at times.

so friend, i challenge you to take on a heart more like david's. if yours is hardened towards something or someone, reevaluate your reasoning. remember that we're all human. we all fuck up and get salty about different things. we need to humble ourselves and recognize our wrongdoings towards others. every heart beat is precious and every spirit is beautiful.

xoxo

allie