Can you see me?

Anyone that knows me well or sees me often knows I enjoy wearing my white (little bit grungy) baseball cap. Most of the time I travel on the same route while out for a walk; I am sure the homeowners on that route think of me as the "white cap lady."

This, along with our Pastor's sermon on Sunday, got me thinking...how else am I being seen and do I really SEE others? I don't mean just a quick glance at someone else, barely noticing them, I mean really SEEING them?

At the job I have outside of the home, I tell people I literally have the "world" pass before my eyes. I have the rich, poor, fit, fat, deaf, disabled, toothless & tattoed. I must admit when I first started this position (being the germ-a-phobic I am) I was less than thrilled to talk to or touch some of the groups I listed. Yet, as time went on I started to SEE past their outward appearance and look into their eyes. I do believe they really are the windows to the soul. Once I did this, I could see happiness in some; but many others with sadness and loneliness, just wishing someone would SEE them.

You would be amazed at the response I have gotten from people once I started SEEING them and took a few seconds to sincerely TALK to them. I have learned about the death of parents, hospitalizations, cancer treatments, job losses, etc. More times than I can count the letters WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) have popped into my head before I started to speak. John 4:35 says "Open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. I am telling you, the fields are ripe. It's harvest time."

Perhaps we should all slow down for just a second. Take a good look to SEE the waitress at the restaurant, the store clerk, or the obese teenager in our line. Maybe we could cast some of our "SON-light" into the dark and hurting world around us and make someone's day a bit brighter. You never know, they might just be wearing a white baseball cap.