So, I’m having this moment of gratitude last Thursday afternoon. Philly and I had our first real trip together. Our honeymoon was very short and this past year has held its challenges, so a set time away hasn’t been available to us until now. I’ve realized as I was thanking the Lord for this sweet time away that I had encountered some interesting people. Maybe it is because I’m reading my friend River Jordan’s soon to be released Praying for Strangers, or maybe it is because vacations allow you to disconnect from the rush of life, but whatever it is, I had been far more engaged with the people that I encountered last week.

There was Guy one of the marshall at Pebble Beach Golf Club. He gave me a ride in his golf cart to my car and I heard the stories of his many different jobs that had carried him from his home in England, to Germany, and to Italy and eventually landed him in Sonoma working for companies such as one of my favorites, Apple, and when he retired saw the ad in the paper for this job he had now held for the last eight almost nine years. His two children still live overseas, but his stepdaughter and granddaughter live just up the way from him. He was kind and endearing and looking forward to seeing me when he picked me back up later. I was looking forward to seeing him too.

Then there was Sylvia, one of the sweet workers at the hotel where we stayed. She was picking up towels and I was putting on makeup and we talked. We talked about how she had moved here from Mexico in 1986. How she had gotten her US citizenship in 2000 and how she now took care of her mother and also lived with her 21-year-old son who also worked at the hotel. She showed me the gold pin on her lapel that was for being the star employee. She had been chosen twice and is in the running for an all expense trip for two and is hoping she gets it. I let her know I was hoping she got it too.

Then there was beautiful Jeneaka. She waited on me when I was giving myself permission to shop. She told me that she was thinking about moving to Charleston after she finished all of her school. I told her she would love it.  That it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world as far as I was concerned.

And then the last night we were there…oh, that one really got me. There was George the cab driver from Georgia. And not the state. The Republic. Of which he made me guess where he was from. In fact, he made me guess for every question I asked him.
“How long have you lived here?”
“Guess.”
“How long have you been driving?”
“Guess.”
He would mumble underneath his breath as we drove and Philly and I would just laugh. I found him charming and I think he liked my accent.

Then there was David. Sweet David. Just nine days past his divorce settlement. Sitting alone at the table next to us. Difficult to have a full conversation because there were the texts that kept coming through that he needed to check, but we gave him Philly’s ice cream. He gave me a bite of his chocolate tort, and in the middle of it all the pain of where he was seeped through.

As I’m recounting them I’m thinking to myself, how many people do I come into contact with in my daily life that have pain that needs to seep out or stories that I would so enjoy hearing. I have no doubt that I come into contact with interesting and beautiful people every day. And for the most part I do genuinely try to engage people. I mean, my personality is one that if the lady checking me out at Wal Mart is having a rough day I don’t want to get out of her line until I’ve made her smile.

But in this past year, simply trying to learn how to breathe, I have somehow forgotten that there are beautiful people out there waiting to be experienced and enjoyed by me. My prayer as I finished reflecting was this. Father, let me in this year be aware of the people you allow to cross my path. May I learn from them what You would have me discover, and may I give to them what You would have me share.

I can only imagine all that we miss of the beautiful ways that we can offer ourselves up to others in the ordinary everyday because we are glued to Facebook, checking emails or simply trying to avoid eye contact because we are too busy to be bothered. Jan Meyer writes it challenging yet truthfully, “We have surrendered to the god of our self-importance.” Oh, Father, may I never find myself too important that I miss the beauty in the hearts you have created…

Who have you encountered recently that has impacted you? Better yet, who has encountered you?