A Cup, A Reminder

I met a woman at the airport. She sat beside me…she looked hesitant. I stopped the work I was doing as she asked a few quick questions about her flight. Just a simple conversation between strangers. I answered, then went back to my laptop, caught up in work that had my attention. 

At some point, she slipped away without me noticing. When I finally closed my laptop, I realized she had left her cup behind. I glanced around for her, wanting to let her know she had left it. 

I looked over in more detail and read the words printed on it:

“If a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.”

I paused. And then I prayed. It felt like more than a forgotten cup. It felt like a moment, a message meant for me. A quiet reminder. A holy nudge.

I sat with it and thought, why do we wait for permission to step into who we already are? Why do we need words on a cup to remind us we’re allowed to live boldly, with purpose? But maybe we do need the invitation. Maybe we need small signs to interrupt the noise.

The truth is, the choices we make today shape our tomorrow. So how are we choosing? 

From fear? 

From habit? 

Or from love, presence, courage?

A few minutes later, the woman returned. I smiled and told her I liked her cup. She said a student gave it to her. She teaches English in India, but had been in Dallas, heading to Virginia before returning home to India.

I asked if I could take a picture of her cup and write about it. She smiled and said yes. Then she said something so soft, so true, I’ll never forget it:

“It’s pretty simple. To be a legend that is. It takes kindness. This cup reminds me of that.” That stayed with me. We think being a legend means doing something big. But maybe it just means showing up. With love. With gentleness. With a willing heart.

I thought of Jesus. How He spent just a few years here, loving His neighbor, washing feet, eating dinner with tax collectors. His legacy was never about power..it was about presence.

It reminds me of something Mother Teresa said:

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Maybe that’s the invitation.

Maybe being legendary is less about doing big things and more about doing the next kind thing.

With presence.

With love.

With God.