When speaking up results in blessing

I had a most unusual experience as I was shopping at Anaconda. As I was being served the server was frustrated with the scanning not working properly and swore quietly a couple of times using "Jesus" as his swear word. I am normally like a bull in a china shop but instead of being abrupt I very quietly mentioned that I found his language offensive and would appreciate if he didn't use "Jesus" in that way.
His reply was something like, "well you probably wouldn't like the fact that I'm gay either".
My response, much kinder and wiser than normal, was that I had no problem with that, but as a Christian I didn't like hearing "Jesus" used as a swear word. I also mentioned that I understood it was probably pretty hectic working at Christmas time and I wasn't trying to offend him or be rude.
Interesting his response suddenly changed. He mentioned that he had been kicked out of a church because he was gay. I didn't respond with any judgement, just said that I was sorry he had been treated that way.
In the following short conversation I mentioned being a Pastor and he asked where I went so he could visit one day.
The conversation ended with this young man thanking me for bringing a smile to his day.
I am simply astounded by God who can take such an unlikely opportunity and bring good and blessing out of it.
I am learning, slowly, that quiet respectful gracefilled comments have much more ability that judgemental hard comments to touch the heart of people in whom God dwells even when they are far from him.

The wise old woman

Sometimes in conflict we need to step out of the situation. There is a middle Eastern story about a Father who dies and leaves his 3 sons with 17 camels. The oldest gets 1/2, the 2nd gets 1/3 and the youngest gets 1/9. Since 17 cannot be divided by 2, 3 or 9 they could not resolve how to divide the camels, so they went to a wise old woman for help. The old woman thought about it for a while and then said, "Well I have a camel I don't need so why don't you have it so you can have 18 camels." They took the 18 camels and the oldest got 1/2, that is 9, the 2nd son got 1/3, that is 6, and the youngest got 1/9, that is 2. After the dividing there was 1 camel left which they gave back to the old women.
This story comes from http://www.ted.com/talks/william_ury.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-12-07&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

Answer these two questions after reading the following 3 quotes:

• What act of love from someone else have you been blessed by in recent times?
• What act of love is God calling you to make in the near future?

In Matthew 22:36-39 (NIV) it says ...

• “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

To understand what is meant by love there is no better place to go than 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (The Message Version)

• Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head, doesn't force itself on others, isn't always "me first," doesn't fly off the handle, doesn't keep score of the sins of others, doesn't revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

Quote from John Piper (www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/how-to-kill-sin-part-1)

• If you are going to be the kind of person who gets up when you get knocked down and instead of planning revenge, plans fresh strategies of love; and instead of questioning God, submits to his wise and good sovereignty; and instead of whining, rejoices in tribulation and is refined like steel, then you will have to learn to kill the sins of self-pity and pride and grudge-holding and loving the praise of man. In other words, Christians who joyfully presses on in some great Cause of love and justice don't come out of nowhere. They come out of the fiery furnace of warfare with sin – fought mainly in their own souls.