Lately I've been noticing something. Everytime an opportunity for me to serve comes, its usually towards someone I have judged wrongly or been a little irked by. It serves me right too. But whether its rumors, the general attitude of others around that person, their appearance--whatever petty thing I foolishly blind myself with--the opportunity to serve them comes along. And believe me, its never a coincidence.
I'll usually be in the middle of whatever I'm doing, just sort of doing it passively and deciding what to do when I get home, when someone takes me by the hand and causes me to look up.
"Follow me," my Savior smiles down at me, "I want to show you something."
And so I follow Him. He gently leads me, or at least my gaze, towards that person, "Look," he says, bending to my level and gesturing towards them. It will usually be something small. They'll smile or laugh. They'll give a hearty thanks or I'll notice something beautiful about them I hadn't before. A lot of times it will be something I remember them doing or saying a while back.
"You see that?" He asks excitedly, "I love that smile. I created that smile; one of my best works."
It was a beautiful smile! Why hadn't I seen it before?
"And look over there," he directs me towards another soul I was blind to, "Remember how she holds the door for everyone?" his eyes sparkle with soft humor, "That's one of my favorite things about her."
I sighed, seeing only a glimpse of her true beauty.
"And him," he gently grabs my shoulders and turns me around, his voice suddenly heavy with emotion, "You have no idea about him. Not many people do. Please don't let those thoughts and gossip get in the way; You would be missing out on one amazing person."
I hang my head in guilt, but then someone else comes skipping along. He grins through his tears and turns back around. I follow, "You can sense that happy spirit a mile away. You live close by, have you ever noticed it?"
Not as much as I could've...
"And him," He smiles with satisfaction, "You saw only a slice of his great nobleness last week. So what if he seems a little," he frowns,"'different'?"
By the end of it, I'm always wishing to be like the very people I was skeptic of. I carry on my service, knowing I could've gotten a whole lot more out of it if I had come with a better perspective.
Then after going home, I usually still feel really lousy. How could I be such a jerk? How could I be so blind? How in the world would I ever match up to them? They went through so much more than I did.
But then, after some repentence, that same hand grabs mine again.
I'll usually be in the middle of whatever I'm doing, just sort of doing it passively and deciding what to do when I get home, when someone takes me by the hand and causes me to look up.
"Follow me," my Savior smiles down at me, "I want to show you something."
And so I follow Him. He gently leads me, or at least my gaze, towards that person, "Look," he says, bending to my level and gesturing towards them. It will usually be something small. They'll smile or laugh. They'll give a hearty thanks or I'll notice something beautiful about them I hadn't before. A lot of times it will be something I remember them doing or saying a while back.
"You see that?" He asks excitedly, "I love that smile. I created that smile; one of my best works."
It was a beautiful smile! Why hadn't I seen it before?
"And look over there," he directs me towards another soul I was blind to, "Remember how she holds the door for everyone?" his eyes sparkle with soft humor, "That's one of my favorite things about her."
I sighed, seeing only a glimpse of her true beauty.
"And him," he gently grabs my shoulders and turns me around, his voice suddenly heavy with emotion, "You have no idea about him. Not many people do. Please don't let those thoughts and gossip get in the way; You would be missing out on one amazing person."
I hang my head in guilt, but then someone else comes skipping along. He grins through his tears and turns back around. I follow, "You can sense that happy spirit a mile away. You live close by, have you ever noticed it?"
Not as much as I could've...
"And him," He smiles with satisfaction, "You saw only a slice of his great nobleness last week. So what if he seems a little," he frowns,"'different'?"
By the end of it, I'm always wishing to be like the very people I was skeptic of. I carry on my service, knowing I could've gotten a whole lot more out of it if I had come with a better perspective.
Then after going home, I usually still feel really lousy. How could I be such a jerk? How could I be so blind? How in the world would I ever match up to them? They went through so much more than I did.
But then, after some repentence, that same hand grabs mine again.
"Follow me," He pulls me to my feet, "I want to show you some of my favorite things about you."
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