The impact of a stranger

It is amazing how a complete stranger has the power to impact our mood, self-image, and even our life! A week or so ago a complete stranger impacted me for life! It was a sweet older lady who started a conversation with me in a waiting room. As we talked, it turned out she and her husband had been married 55 years...she in turn asked me how long I had been married. I responded that I was single...she turned to face me and said with complete shock and honesty "I thought for sure that a girl as beautiful as you are, you would be married!" Oh, maybe it was a vain moment for me, but I felt beautiful looking into the elderly eyes of sweet, stranger, Elaine! Vanity or not, I believe we need those moments when we are reminded that God created us in His image and that we need to look at ourselves through older and wiser eyes as to what is truly beautiful...I don't know if Elaine will ever know the impact of her simple conversation, but it hit home with me that I am someone's "Elaine"! Someone who may be insecure, have a low self-esteem, may live in pain, or just feel like they can never be good enough....my words will either make them feel the way I did or make them feel the exact opposite...my words to a complete stranger can and will impact them.