This morning, I was on the bus, on my way to school, and I noticed I was frowning.  I mean I could literally feel the furrow in my brow, my cheeks sag, the corners of my mouth nearly touch my chin.

And I was listening to my morning praise music at that!  And I was happily feeling it inside, but you wouldn’t notice it from my expression.

It was as if my outward appearance forgot what it was like to smile, to feel happy, to walk in light, to see brightness in the world beyond just one footstep.

It saddened me – a lot.

Was getting off the bus to transfer onto another one, and someone touched me.  Looked down and there was a man who I talked with a few days ago on the bus.  At the time, he was really proud at the fact that
I taught at the university level.  In his words, “We need more of us teaching our youth.”

He smiled, asked me how I was doing, and I was feeling (on the inside) good, so I said, “Great, and you?”

As I got onto the next bus, I saw this elderly man who rides the bus every morning with his radio in hand and heads to Mickey D’s for his coffee and morning chat with people.

I smiled at him, touched him, and said, “So how are you doing this morning, sir?”

And he just smiled and said, “Good, baby.  How are you?”

And we had a short “how are you” conversation, and I sat.

We got off on the same stop, and we both headed to Mickey D’s together, and I held the door open for him and he touched my elbow and allowed me to move in front of him in line.

While I waited my turn, I realized that a big part of getting that outward happiness is the connections, the “touches” we make with others.

It doesn’t mean I have to make friends with everyone, but it does mean that I need to open my eyes and truly see what’s around me.  There are others, like me, searching for their place in the world, and every once
in a while, it’s a blessing to have one of those people touch you just to say, “Hey, I’m here.  I’m in the same boat.  Take a ride with me for a spell.”

It’s part of the call from God for us to do this.

And it’s something I realized I needed to work on more.  I give to others because it’s something God instilled in me.  I feel, almost too real, for others because it’s something God instilled in me.  But I want to learn, need to learn, hunger to learn to open my eyes and truly see God’s people so that I can connect with them and help others to find God.

And the thought of that actually just made me smile.

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