INSPIRASUNS

I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday afternoon. We’re discussing working on a project together and part of our conversation was about being aware of what and who is around you.

We’re all so busy these days, we have to get to the grocery store, fill up the car with gas, get kids to ball practice, work, church, we tend to almost be on autopilot. We don’t even notice what’s right in front of us. For instance, a few days ago I was coming out of the grocery store. I noticed an older woman pushing her cart to her car. She was a tiny woman, and she was frail. She had parked just a few cars down from me. I put my groceries in the car and returned the cart to the store. When I came back out, the woman was trying to get the last item out of her cart and into her car. It was a box of cat litter. I started over to her to see if she needed help when she kind of dropped it into the car. Ah, good I thought, she made it. I headed home after that, but what has been nagging me is I probably should have asked sooner if she needed help, and asked if she had someone at home that was going to help her get it out of the car. There are people right in front of us that need help and sometimes, well we just don’t see them.

We need to look past the busyness of our day and see those in plain sight who might need assistance. Sometimes it’s as simple as helping someone unload a grocery cart, or maybe it’s a smile to a mom whose child is misbehaving in that same grocery store. What about that senior who is trying to just stand up from the table to leave the restaurant, can you offer to assist? Yes, friends, there are people, in plain sight that need help, and most of the time it’s very easy to give.

Ya, I know, “Here she goes on her soapbox again”, you are probably thinking. It’s just that I see so many people during the day who are parked on their phones. They are driving and facetiming at the same time, (yes, truth I’ve seen it personally). I see people walking through parking lots looking at their phones, instead of looking at the other people around them. People walking their dogs in the morning and staring at their phones as they walk instead of looking at the beauty of the morning, and others who might be passing by them.

Yes, my friends, there are so many opportunities to just look at what is right in front of us. We need to start seeing people again. Here’s a radical idea, the next time you go into a store or restaurant, leave your phone in the car. My husband and I have started doing this, and you know what, we haven’t missed them 🙂 . Take a moment to look around, actually looking at the faces of people, and exchange a smile. When we see someone in need, let’s just offer to assist.

We are God’s children and we’re here to not ignore each other but to help each other. We can’t do that if we don’t see that someone needs help. So, take a look at what is in plain sight, and if you’re able, lend a hand. Have a good day my friends, and thank you as always for being here each day 🙂 .

Continued prayers please for Emily Rea. The search for this sweet woman continues. Please lift not only Emily, but her family and friends in prayer.

p.s. Thanks to my friend Dana Watson for another beautiful sunrise picture from Africa this morning.

James 1:22
but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.