This morning, I arrived to campus with my hands full. I carried a container of treats for my students, my lunch, and my purse. As I walked up the stairs to my classroom, a kind person simply asked, “May I get that door for you?”
“Yes!” I said. “Thank you so much!”
“Well, you have your hands full!”
I smiled. I was suddenly so thankful for this person and for every good thing in the whole wide world.
And I thought about that loving expression, “May I?” followed by all sorts of kind words.
May I open the door for you?
May I hold that for you?
May I help you with that?
May I buy you lunch?
May I ask you to share your major stressors with me?
May I bring your family dinner tonight?
May I ease your mind?
May I pray for you?
How might we start a sentence with “May I?” today? I know that this afternoon, one of the most beloved professors in our department will invite me into her office. She always begins a conversation, like clockwork, with this beautiful question: “May I make you a cup of tea?”
She once told me how deliberate and symbolic this question is for students who stop by to see her. She explained, “When I ask someone if I can make them a cup of tea, it means that I have time, that I want them to spend time with me, and that I’m here to listen and take care of them. A cup of tea means conversation and slow time.”
As you can imagine, her office stays booked with students in a steady stream. She starts each encounter with, “May I?” And “May I?” means so much more than we can imagine.