Sometimes No Words are Needed

Good and lovely life-giving words. I adore them.  I love words that are well put together in a book, a message, a lyric…even certain ad campaigns make my heart soar. And I am always excited when they flow well enough into something I feel I can share here.

Sometimes, though, no words are necessary. Sometimes, everything that needs to be said can be said with a glance.

For the last several years, I have purchased a piece of handmade pottery at the Pottery Exhibit at the NC State Fair. There are several makers’ booths and just one checkout register, so the shop’s code is on the price tag of each item to make sure the correct artisan gets credit for a sale. As I waited to pay for this year’s addition to my collection, I met the eyes of a woman who was sitting with the group working the register. There was a sweet “knowing” look in her eyes (recognition? amusement?) and I wondered if we knew one another somehow. The first sales helper removed the ticket from the dish, passed the dish to the person who was wrapping and bagging the items, and handed the price tag to the woman at the register. As she recorded the price ticket, the cashier’s face lit up and she said, “You got one of my mom’s pieces!” She turned to the woman whose eyes had met mine moments earlier. “Mom, did she get one of your honeybees?” “No, she got the turquoise dish.”

Ah, so that was it. She was excited that out of the entire tent, where the work of hundreds of artists was displayed, I appreciated and had chosen one of her creations. That is what I’d seen in her eyes. It was quiet delight in knowing.  She wasn’t going to say anything – she didn’t need conversation about it. Knowing was enough for her.

I have experienced other “no words necessary” glances recently.

I see you.

I appreciate you.

I’ve been praying for you for a long time.

Thank you.

All is well.

Sometimes words don’t need to be said out loud for our hearts to hear them.