I am now sitting in the JFK airport in New York watching the people go by. My team and I just traveled from Atlanta after spending about four days in training camp. I love people watching. I always have. I love making up stories of what the people could possibly be doing/going/meeting. However, I rarely spend any time thinking about the true stories behind the faces. Some have smiles, some are pushing people out of the way, and some are stuck near a plug with their nose pressed against a screen. Yet, they all have a purpose. They all have a reason for being here, whether it is vacation, work, family gathering, etc. I think of them as an extra in my story, yet to them, I am an extra in their story. I’m just another passing face to them.
I think in today’s culture we go around thinking everyone is having a perfect life, while we are all alone. We have the soiled relationships, they don’t; we have the body imperfections, they don’t; we have the crazy work environment, they don’t…the list could go on and on. Yet, that idea could not be farther from the truth. Everyone has a story, a purpose, a reason of why they act the way they do.
For example, I came across a young lady a few weeks ago and we had encountered each other a few times through activities, but I didn’t know anything more than her name and that she had a really great smile. One day, she came up to me with a card. She said that she remembered me talking about this month-long missions trip I was going on and wanted to contribute a little something. Later that day, I went to my car to open the letter. Inside was a good-sized check for my trip along with a card. She wrote that a year ago she lost a child before he was born and it was now around what would’ve been his first birthday. Due to this, she wanted to do a random act of kindness, and that every idea she came up with didn’t seem right until she heard about my trip. Keep in mind, I knew nothing about her besides her name, and suddenly I was deep into her life and her journey and her pain.
Every single person is like this. They all have a background that we never even think about during our daily encounters with them. At training camp, we poured out our lives to each other. Our team spent hours talking and discussing God and life. It was crazy hearing stories that I would not have guessed just by looking at the wonderful women of God sitting around me. It just shows how everything is based on your own perception, and not God’s. Imagine if we all just walked around recognizing that God perceives them as a child of His, regardless of their story and their past. He has a purpose, plan, and reason for each person being here and longs to show us that. Training camp was such an eye opener. We went not only deep into the hearts of each other, but also the heart of God. We learned that we couldn’t be the hands and feet of God, without truly experiencing His heart towards others. Instead of imagining my own scenario for them, I now look around and try to imagine the love and compassion that God has for them, and I promise you, it changes things.
I cannot wait to be in the Dominican Republic and begin to learn the stories of God’s children there.
