The Conversationalist

She handled each person expertly.
It was crowded in line so I had plenty of time to watch her interact with the people.
She was a master of small talk.
She put each of her customers at ease.

Two women were ahead of me.
The one who was being waited on was buying baby gifts.
The cashier was complimenting her on her choices.
When was the baby born? She asked as she scanned each of her items.

Just the other day so she is very new!
The cashier continued to talk as she worked.
In the span of a few minutes, the woman shared many the details about the baby.
She is my great niece, the woman said proudly.

That prompted the cashier to talk about her own aunt and how much she meant to her.
The woman she was waiting on seemed to enjoy the banter back and forth.
Some customers would not have liked it at all.
The cashier was genuine, warm, and friendly.

So as not to be too inquisitive, the cashier shared her own stories.
She spoke about being an aunt herself.
She spoke about her sister’s experience as a new mom.
She put the woman at ease.

If she hadn’t worked so efficiently as she talked to the woman, others would have been annoyed.
However, she was the fastest cashier I have encountered in quite a while.
She was engaging and extremely pleasant.
She was a conversationalist.

That is a skill that not everyone can claim.
It is an art to put people at ease and get them talking.
A conversationalist has the personality of a good talk show host.
A conversationalist has the inquisitiveness of an old-fashioned newspaper reporter.

This cashier was not looking for information to use against someone.
She was not asking her questions to be nosy.
She was simply being friendly; she seemed to enjoy people.
If truth be told, the conversations probably helped her own work day go faster.

I appreciated her warm and caring attitude.
Not every cashier could copy her style.
Not everyone would be comfortable to talk to people the way she did.
She gauged people’s reactions and acted accordingly.

I thought back to my days as a bank teller.
I worked for a bank all through my college years.
Even during the school year, I worked a few hours at night settling the ATM machine.
A group of us worked after hours to process deposits and settle all the daily transactions.

During the summer, I was initially a floating teller.
The bank was able to send me to whatever branch needed me to cover people on vacation.
There was one branch I loved to work in more than all the others.
It was in a little town with a library around the corner and a main street with lots of shops.

It was delightful to work at that branch and get to know all the people in the town.
The manager seemed to like me and she requested that I be placed there permanently.
It was never a chore to go to work.
I thoroughly enjoyed the people I worked with and all the customers I served.

That was back in the days before online banking was even thought of.
That was back in the days when banks were closed on weekends.
That was back in the days when the only night with extended hours was Friday.
On Friday only the bank closed at 7:00pm.

I talked to all the customers while cashing their checks during the busy Friday lunchtime rush.
I asked about their children while getting a money order ready for them.
I laughed at their jokes while gathering the travelers’ checks they would need for vacation.
I answered their questions as I prepared a bank check for the closing of their first house.

I got to know and love the people in this town.
It was four years worth of knowing.
By the time I was engaged, I had become like family to them and they to me.
One of the workers at the hardware store, used to call my name loudly from the front door.

He would come in shout my last name as soon as he entered the front door.
Customers would look around startled; thinking at first there was a problem.
They soon learned that it was just the way this man was and it became part of his routine.
When he saw the engagement ring on my finger he asked, what’s your new name going to be?

As he came in the next day with the store’s receipts he yelled, Gallagher, so everyone could hear.
It made me laugh.
It was strange to hear that name because it was not official yet, but he got me used to it.
Some of the people from that town actually came to the church to see me get married.

I would like to think that I was as much of a conversationalist as the cashier I saw today.
I would like to think I put people at ease then and hopefully now, as well.
A conversationalist truly enjoys people.
A conversationalist remembers what they talked about, so they can ask about it the next time.

With five children, many texts go back and forth each day.
I have to be very careful that I send the right text to the right person.
I have been known to make a few mistakes.
Thankfully nothing private was shared, but the recipient was clueless as to what my text meant.

A conversationalist has to be careful.
Like the cashier today, people’s reactions must be gauged.
There are those who want to engage in conversation and those who would rather not.
God certainly understands.

We, who cannot even keep our texts straight, could never be God.
We could never keep track of all the conversations He must hear in prayer.
We would mix up our responses; we would confuse the requests.
I am so glad God is God and I am not.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them for you Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)

Talking just to hear yourself talk is annoying to others and not pleasing to God.
It is babbling to Him.
Conversing with Him privately and telling Him all your thoughts and needs is pleasing.
God the Father knows what we need before we even ask Him.

Are you a conversationalist in prayer?
Do you banter back and forth with God, telling Him your every thought?
God the Father loves having conversations with His children.
God the Father always enjoys talking to His children.

Our faith is a Word-based faith.
God spoke and all creation came into existence.
God spoke through His Son, Jesus.
God speaks through His word.

God the Father is the True Conversationalist.
Are you listening to Him?
Are you speaking to Him?
Nothing thrills Him more.