Did You Notice?...

Last Sunday during our church assembly, Jeff, our youth minister, gave a couple of testimonies pertinent to our theme of the day - which happened to be "When Jesus Comes Into Your Life." One of the testimonies (or commentary) Jeff gave was in response to the question, 'How would Jesus react to strangers?' The gospels are filled with how Jesus would (and did) react to strangers, those who were sick, hurting, mourning, outcasts of society, sinners ... you know - people like us. How did Jesus react? He simply noticed...Anyway, Jeff related a story about he and his wife going to the local theater, already 'made up' for a Halloween party later in the evening. All painted up in their best zombie style - they were amazed at how little reaction they received from the other people at the theater - people all around, standing in the same ticket line, the same line to get popcorn, and a 'zombie' in line with them went unnoticed. We all chuckled at how 'odd' that seemed, at the same time realizing we've been there. Either as the 'unnoticed' person or the person 'not noticing.' It was food for thought... then after church Ron, the kids, and I went out to lunch. At the end of our meal, while the waitress was clearing our dirty dishes, Ron followed his normal habit of starting up a conversation. Not just the usual, Hi, how ya doin?... but 'Are you in school?".... "Where?"..."Do you play sports?" ... "Have you ever been to (fill in the blank)." While my stepdaughter, Sarah, and I were beginning to feel uncomfortable about his 'nosey-ness,' it dawned on me ... He notices! He always notices - especially the un-noticeable. And, I was no longer embarassed by his nosey-ness - I was embarassed by my lack of nosey-ness. (Although I do have to admit since I've been dating and now married to Ron, my interest/awareness level in others around me has gone way up. It's a new habit...). Who knows how many times Ron has been the only one to notice someone, or to ask the person cleaning up something about themselves. My heart grew even more in love with him that day. Sure, you can tell some people are uncomfortable - but at the same time, they are happy to be noticed, to no longer be 'invisible' ... I think that's what Jesus did, too. He noticed...