In Free Talk last week, one of the essays that we read, Gestures of Grace, was by a teacher in the states. She lamented the fact that small acts of kindness are sometimes left by the wayside these days. She used the illustration of Velcro lessening the need for an adult to kneel at a child’s feet to help them tie their shoes. The conversation on the topic was just like most any other day in Free Talk, and I didn’t really think too much more about the article.
Today, one of the teachers came up and said that last night she posted a photo of Luke by a wastebasket on “We Chat” (the most popular online chat/text/messaging app in China) and put the caption “Gestures of Grace.” She said it moved her to see Luke kneeling down on the floor by a trashcan helping to clean up after our party.
I had to marvel at the whole circumstance surrounding what she saw him doing. Last night at the primary teachers’ party, one of the American teachers’ hotel key card was missing at the end of the party. She knew she’d left it on the table where she’d been sitting, so we were sure it had accidentally gotten thrown in the trash with all the watermelon rinds, yogurt containers, and other various remainders of our eating frenzy. We tried to keep it low key as a few of the Chinese teachers that knew, also helped us with the tedious and rather unsavory task of rooting through garbage. Luke found the key card, and we all breathed a sigh of thanks and relief. Little did we know that the momentary frustration and stress for one team member actually turned out to be a picture of humility and service modeled by another team member.
Then, during supper, one of the restaurant workers who has been overseeing our meals, had an interesting conversation with me in Cantonese. She had noticed that our team always shares a quiet moment of collective thankfulness for our meals before we eat. (We are in our own private room with just the team and servers that pop in and out with dishes as they are prepared.) I had a short but interesting chat with her before she got back to work. At the end of a busy week of sharing our professional experience, I am smiling on a personal level about the gestures of grace that were part of my week. (Audrey)
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