Often we become caught up in our own affairs so much so that it’s like an ostrich with his head buried in the sand. When we connect with others we sometimes forget to sincerely ask them how things are going before we lambaste them with our own issues.
Take a look around you.
I can guarantee you that you are sitting or standing next to someone who is going through something - this is the one thing we all have in common as humans.
Pain, in its various forms, is something we all can relate to. A husband may be struggling emotionally with the burden of providing for his family. Allowing pride to overtake him, he bottles up his fear inside without letting anyone know.
So many of us have children that we forget about the plight of those who would cherish the opportunity to be successful in getting pregnant – the hope of holding their own baby. Unfortunately, we’re too busy flashing our own pictures to look beyond the plastered smile to see the sadness within.
What about the young person who doesn’t feel validated by mom and dad? Peers applying pressure all around to smoke, to drink, to have sex. Where else will they turn with these feelings? Life is too much to deal with.
Are you paying attention to those around you? Are you?
What about the little ones? Do you take the time to actually sit and watch their tv shows with them or do you choose instead to plop them down for an hour of free babysitting? You do know this is a person. A person with feelings and concerns. Don’t let the baby talk fool you. Regardless of age, this little one probably has something s/he’s going through as well. We all do.
Pain is blind to age, race, color, wealth, and creed.
So what will we do about it?
We should strive to make authentic connections with others. Real. Genuine. Let’s put our own concerns in the hands of a God who can hold us together so that we can focus more on bearing one another’s burdens. No one should have to walk this walk alone. God needs us to be there for those we love.
Pay attention. Listen. If you spend five minutes talking on a real level with someone, you will hear an issue s/he’s going through. Take a moment to allow her to talk about it. No, you don’t have to offer a solution. Just listen. After all, you can’t solve the problem anyway. What you can do, however, is add her to your prayer list and lay those burdens at the feet of Jesus.
Can you do that? I challenge each of us to pull our ostrich-like heads out of the sand of our worlds and begin to look around us paying close attention to every single person we connect with. Begin at home first. Extended family next. Friends we love. Neighbors. Yes, even the lady in front of you at Walmart. (smile)
II. Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
