~MUSIC MONDAY~ Maybe we can all take another look at those around us today...With new "eyes".

Today I'm sharing "Give Me Your Eyes" from Brandon Heath...I loved this song the first time I heard it. I had to listen to it a few times before all the words sunk in and now I think of it often as I'm out and about.

When someone calls here at the store on the phone from somewhere across the country to place an order. And the next thing we know, we've been on the phone for 45 minutes talking about their life and what they're going through. They called to simply place an order, but it turns out what they really needed was someone to talk to. How does that happen?

I ask how people are -- and I mean it.

If I sense someone on the other end of the line is stressed or down, I ask how things are going for them. I don't "know them from Adam" as the saying goes, but I care. And they share. It is truly a wonderful thing.

Are there times when I am rushed and really "can't afford half an hour on an impromptu conversation? Maybe. But then once I've heard what this person, this perfect stranger has been dealing with in her life, I realize there was no way I could NOT AFFORD to spend that time with her.

What if we're the ONLY PERSON that person will encounter today who shows any care at all for them?

Orders can wait. People can't.

Not unlike the old adage "walk a mile in someone else's shoes", today I'm thinking along the lines of wanting to see others -- perfect strangers -- in a new way, through new eyes.

Seeing past the facade and the phony smile and into the heart.

Not judging someone by what they look like, or where they happen to be in life right now, because there IS ALWAYS MORE TO THE PICTURE than what we see...

Artwork: Olivia Harsham

And not focusing on the "how" or the "why" of what brought someone to that down-trodden place they're in right now,

but rather what I can do to help them in their "now".

To see a person as they can be, not as they currently are.

And then

help them

see that vision, too....

Everyday we pass by people who are "on the verge", at a turning point, at some critical point in their lives.

Who, at even just the simple qustion "So how are you? Really?" will begin to weep

because its been so long since someone cared to ask.

And meant it.

If someone cuts you off in traffic, or glares at you in the grocery store when you say hello...imagine another scenario -- imagine what they may have just left, at home or work or school, before you saw them.

We pass people everyday who may have just lost a child, a spouse, a job. Don't judge them or their response to you. Pray for them. Love them.

Try to imagine the invisible load they're carrying that only they see, they feel. Try to imagine how hard it was for them to even walk out of the house today and put on that "happy face".

Maybe how hard it was for them

to even

get out

of bed today....

They're everywhere.

In line with you at Starbucks.

Behind the counter at Starbucks.

In the next booth over in the restaurant.

Seated at the desk next to you at work or school.

Sitting across from you tonight, at the dinner table...

Dare to care. Dare to see with new, compassionate eyes.

We're so busy these days. We all have problems and cares...please don't forget that the lady next to you in the store may, too... And maybe cut her some slack today. :)

You may never know what difference you may make in someone's life if you extend a caring greeting, a genuinely caring smile.

Only eternity will reveal the rewards of even your simplest act of kindness. But even the simplest act is never, ever wasted.

You are loved,

~Ruth~