As written in my previous post, my heart has been drawn to learn compassion. God wants me to be attentive to those He puts in my path.
I kneeled in prayer yesterday in our church, waiting for a friend to meet me there. As she didn’t come, and my toddler wandered around, I noticed a man across the church kneeling. I’ve never met him, he looked composed and not too bothered, but I started including him and his intentions into my prayer, asking that God fulfilled whatever he was asking and grant him peace.
I started to feel a stirring in my heart that I was supposed to give the man my rosary. It was a beautiful red, one-decade rosary with a symbol of the Holy Spirit on it. In the back of my mind, I heard a voice saying, “He sees you, and He hears you.”
At first I thought there was no way I was going to interrupt this man’s prayer. I started gathering my daughter’s things and she hit her head and started screaming. I looked up at the man, and he looked at me – there you go – we had already interrupted him. I finished gathering our stuff and started toward the back doors of the church. I wondered – how will I feel when I get outside of the church if I don’t follow these stirrings of my heart?
I reached into my pocket to find the rosary. I walked up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. His friendly face greeted me. I said, “I feel like I am supposed to give you this” and handed him the rosary. He looked down at the rosary in surprise, then back at me. I said, “I also feel like I am supposed to tell you that, ‘He sees you, and He hears you.’ ” The man turned away from me, letting out a gasp or sob, placing his head down into the crook of his arm. My daughter and I left to pick up my other kids from school.
I have been wondering about him and praying for him ever since. What I said to him was true for all of us. Was it okay to point out this truth to a stranger in the middle of prayer? I only did because I felt this stirring in my heart and voice – “He sees you, and He hears you.” – it just made sense. Should I have stayed longer to talk to him? I’m not sure, it may have been tricky since my 1 year old was heading out the door.
Like the Good Samaritan did to the Jewish man, we must remember that God wants to pour out His life and healing to the broken-hearted, to the weary, to the hurt, to the fearful. Maybe we can help bring God’s love and life to others if we slow down and pay attention.
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.” John 5:21
Father God, it was a small thing yesterday, but it reminded me to be attentive to others. Help me to do the little things with love, and to follow the stirrings of my heart to be a conduit of your grace. Amen.
My Heart, My Home 