For May 19, 2024
Dear Friends:
As I sat in church a few weeks back waiting for the service to begin, and enjoying the quiet space, some of the choir members came in and sat down. As I glanced their way, I began to think of them more deeply than usual. I thought of the things I knew and liked about them…how much I admired who they were and how they handled life - both the joys and the challenges. For some reason, I took that moment to see them “for real.”
There’s a woman who lives in my apartment building with her young son, who has many physical and mental disabilities. She often takes him out on his modified bike or his stroller. You can tell what a wonderful, caring mother she is and how well cared for her little boy is. Some would say, “Well, she is his mother.” Even so, it touches my heart when I really take the time to, “see her for real…” to “walk a mile in her shoes.”
So often we go through life not really noticing people or our surroundings…we take things for granted. Then suddenly, one day, we “see for real.” A brief example of what I mean by seeing for real comes from a 1954 Broadway production called “The Rainmaker,” written by playwright N. Richard Nash where Lizzie says, “I’m in the kitchen washing the dishes. And Pop’s playing poker with the boys. Well, I’ll watch him real close. And at first I’ll just see an ordinary middle-aged man—not very interesting to look at. And then minute by minute, I’ll see little things I never saw in him before. Good things and bad things—queer little habits I never noticed he had—and ways of talking I never paid any mind to. And suddenly I know who he is—and I love him so much I could cry! And I want to thank God I took the time to see him real.”
Perhaps those moments of “seeing real” are gifts of the Spirit and a lesson in and call to Christian action. I think it is also an invitation to find ways to let others know that they are seen and appreciated.
Blessings,
Sharon