Levi is a six-year-old, blue-eyed little boy with blonde hair and one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen. I am blessed enough to be his sister, and today he and I went to the grocery store.
For most peoplegrocery shopping is a chore, just another thing on the to-do list. For Levi, it is an adventure. Safeway is a treasure trove for that child, and before we were even through the doors he was affectionately petting a watermelon and saying, “Buy this, Sarah? Please? I LOVE watermelons.” Once I’d gotten him to come inside, he practically skipped to the produce section, pulling me by the hand and exclaiming over the oranges.
“Ooh, oranges! I LOVE oranges!” His voice and his face were both joyous as he moved quickly down the aisles, commenting on things and waving at the other shoppers, evoking smiles and hello’s from perfect strangers. Levi finds joy in the things the rest of us find bothersome- to him, the world is full of excitement and happiness, and everyone he meets is worthy of his smile or a hug.
He was delighted when I bought him a piece of string cheese and let him choose a piece of fruit. I don’t think he’d ever tasted a mango, but he promised me that he LOVED mangos, and so we duly purchased one; I swiping my debit card and he standing there patiently swinging my car keys so that they’d make noise.
On our way out he stopped again at the watermelons, telling me he loves to spit their seeds, and we walked hand-in-hand across the parking lot while wearing matching smiles. It is nearly impossible for me to take him grocery shopping without smiling, as a store that exists simply to let people buy string cheese and fruit is a beautiful thing to him.
We drove him with the windows rolled down, listening to Switchfoot, both of us singing loudly because we know all the words. He wore a pair of my sunglasses, a blue even brighter than his eyes, and stuck his arm out the window to wave at people we passed.
“I love that person,” he’ll say as we drive. And he does, because his love encompasses pedestrians and the guy that cuts me off on the freeway, not to mention every human being in Safeway. His love does not judge based on appearance or what kind of car they drive. He simply loves people, and he shares that love happily, his joy spilling out to those he comes in contact with.
For Levi, joy is a way of life. Joy is a condition of the heart, one that doesn’t fade in the face of a bad day, sickness, stress, or the weather. Levi finds joy in the things we take for granted, and he is constantly teaching me to do likewise.
When I was about eleven years old I went to summer camp for the first time. Before my sister and I left, my mother talked to us about something. She explained that we needed to mindful of our behavior at camp, not only because it is important to be kind and respectful, but also because we would be a representation of both our family and Christ to the people around us. That stuck with me. Now, with so many of us daily browsing and posting to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and blogs such as this, our representation is no longer limited to the people we are around in person- it is far-reaching, even global at times. It is certainly a far more widespread representation of yourself to post on the internet than it is to say something in person; on the internet, the dozens or hundreds of people you are connected with may see it. That is an enormous audience. I feel very strongly that we need to be mindful of that audience, of that representation,
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