Shall We Dance?

I stopped at a gas station to grab a drink and while paying the cashier I noticed a wisp of a young girl, pregnant, looking tired, and counting change her in hand. Back in my car, the pregnant girl caught my eye as I started to drive off.

For a moment I debated going up to her, but I had to. I drove over beside her car and asked if she needed some gas in her car as she’d only pumped $4.81. As I pumped the gas she looked at me and shared, “It’s been a bad day.”

“They happen,” I responded. She told me her boyfriend was taken to jail this morning, and it was the worst day. As young and pregnant as she was, I empathized that it probably was for her. I asked when she was due and asked a few more general care questions. Then we sat in silence as I continued to pump the gas. When I was done, I gave her my contact information and offered to pray. I invited her to church and shared that she was welcome anytime. If anything, I wanted to reassure her she wasn’t alone and that someone did care about her. Though I may not have the full resources to help, I know who does and places I can send her for help.

As I drove off I reflected on the tugged whisper to see her. I have learned that you have to train yourself to see people. Life is busy, and it’s very easy for our lives to turn inwardly to ourselves and not have time or eyes to see the needs of those around us. Needs can simply mean a friendly smile for that human connection. Then, the more you do it, the more you see them. It’s like when you buy a new car, all of a sudden, you see them on the road all the time; you have trained your eye to see them through the association of owning one. I have trained my eyes to see people through the association of being seen by a Savior when I was lost.

I have learned to just keep deciding to see people. I had to practice seeing people and the more I did it the more I saw people. I’m not great at it, I am rude to others at times, but I try hard to see all people as people and treat them as seen and valuable in my small encounters. The more I practice, the more naturally it comes to me.

There are many people roaming past you on a daily basis who feel let down, beaten, conspired against, betrayed, lost, afraid, and isolated. It’s important to learn to see people where they are. There’s something about the moments when we see the broken pregnant girls alone in their car, where the power of the everyday is elevated and illuminated. The power of the every day is generated when we take the time to stop and see others. Rise or fall, sink or swim, we are all tied together, and we shift and move each other by the actions we choose to take.