"Lessons From a Stranger"

Dear daughters,

Today I learned a lesson from a complete stranger…

As I stood in line to grab my weights and exercise mat for a strength class I attended this morning at our gym, I noticed a woman making her way around the room talking with several others who were attending the class as well. I have seen this woman several times before at the gym. She is always smiling and seems to have a warmth that radiates from her face as she engages those around her in conversation.

Today, she made her way to my spot in the large, open room and said she had seen me coming in earlier and thought she would introduce herself. She probably talked to me for four or five minutes as we waited on the class to start, but in those few minutes, she managed to find out a good bit about me, my life, my family, and even pay me a sweet compliment! She told me about her family, her seven grandchildren, four of whom live close by, and that she had a daughter about my age. From there, the instructor began the class, and we were off to our own parts of the room. As I walked to my car afterward, I saw her helping her daughter, who happened to be in a wheel chair, into the car. She called me by name from across the parking lot saying she wanted to introduce me to her daughter as well. After a quick introduction, we were each on our way to go about the rest of our day.




I took away a couple of things from my brief encounter with this woman. First of all, she SAW me. She actually saw me three times. She saw me in the parking lot on my way in, she saw me in my spot in the big, open gym, and she saw me as I left to return to my car. Not only that, but she approached me…twice. She made me feel welcome, valued, interesting, and important, and it only took her a few minutes to do so.

How often do I go about my day, seeing people out of the corner of my eye, perhaps wondering about their story or their life for a brief moment before I move along to the next thought or activity within my day? Do I really SEE people? Do I really care about others? Even strangers? Am I too wrapped up in my own life, agenda, and to-do list that I pass by someone who might actually be encouraged by even a brief conversation, act of kindness, or simply the idea that someone noticed them?

This is a convicting and challenging thought for most of us. I am always encouraged by the way Jesus consistently saw and reached out to the people around him, especially the ones not seen by anyone else. He had an incredible ability to interact with those around him in a way that was life-changing. Now, the obvious reason for this is that Jesus is God, our Creator, and is merciful and loving toward those He created. But shouldn't we, His children, possess this same quality?

I don't know the whole story behind the woman at the gym, but I know this: her name is Brigitte, and she SAW me.

"Lord help me to see those around me the way you see them. Give me your spirit eyes so I don't miss opportunities to love and encourage someone else around me, because we never know how it might affect them."