Fellowship in the Frozen Foods

I was shopping for groceries on Sunday. I was pulling a loaf of Udi's bread out of a freezer at the local Publix when a woman about my age ran over and put her hand on my arm. Startled, I looked up.

If this had happened back in New Jersey, I may have pulled out my pepper spray, but luckily I've had a few months of training in southern politeness.

"Is that bread good?" she said, earnestly. "Like, real bread good?"

Oh good, I thought. She's a gluten-free friend, not a serial killer.

"Definitely," I said. "It's the best gluten-free bread I've found."

"Oh wow!" she said. "My daughter hates the other stuff I've bought for her. Can you defrost it?"

"Yup," I said. It's good for four or five days defrosted, and it's great toasted if you want to keep it in the freezer."

"Wow..." she said, gazing at the loaf in my hand. "That is just so great." She leaned in, conspiratorially. "There are cinnamon rolls at that end of the freezer case. I've been looking for those for a long, long time."

When I think about evangelism, I often think of pushy, obnoxious, Bible-thumping manipulation. But in reality, what I do as a gluten-intolerant girl is exactly the model I want in my Christian life as well. "Look what I've found! Guess how awesome Jesus is?"

I had to drive my husband to the airport this morning, so I didn't make it to church. Little did I know that I'd learn a lesson in the frozen foods aisle.