There's this short little, bent little, shriveled up little old lady with an unfriendly look on her face every time I've seen her. I see her here and there frequently. I never even got close enough to say, "Hi, how are you?" She just seemed to not notice me and I didn't want to bother her. She looked grumpy!
Today I ran into her again. I decided to take a chance and greet her, "Hi, are you doing OK?" Much to my surprise, she straightened up a little and smiled. She responded, "I'm doing OK, how about you?" We had a pleasant, short conversation and went our separate ways. Next time I'll have to ask her name!
I try to be friendly to everyone yet not intrusive. Sometime's it hard to walk that line. But I figure, all they can do is ignore me - so what? I know some folks are shy and would like to be approached.
My dear dad, Reuben, was my model for friendliness. He could strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere - and did! My mother was reserved and shy. She wouldn't think of talking with a stranger. But dad was like a warm glow everywhere he went. How I miss them!
I worry about young people. They seem to just stay with their own friends and put down the other kids. What else can we do except be good models? Perhaps parents with children at home could specifically talk with them about not forgetting the shy kid that's always alone. I think it must be some of those 'alone' kids that end up so hurt by rejection that reach their limits and start hurting others, sometimes fatally.
When I was in grade school there was an unwritten rule: if you have a birthday party, you invite each and every person in the class. My mom allowed me to have birthday parties both in the 7th and in the 8th grade. It was so fun - nothing fancy - but fun!
Shortly thereafter, one of the girls had a birthday party and didn't invite me. She was nasty enough to tell me, "I didn't invite you because I don't like you." It really didn't bother me all that much. The other girls heard that I wasn't invited and told her they wouldn't go either. So then she invited me! I had to consider: should I go when I obviously wasn't wanted? I decided I would go and ended up having a good time. Kids!!
As a young mother, I couldn't help but notice that there was one older lady in church that all the other ladies avoided (in church, yet!!). They tolerated her at church but would never invite her anywhere. I wondered what was wrong with her. Sue was from 'the north' and a bit rough looking and sometimes unkempt. She invited me to her house. I went, with my youngest child in tow, and we had a good time. Sue had a lovely home in a nice neighborhood in town. It was perfectly clean but she was sad. Her husband had left her and her other children were grown and living out-of-town. After several years of friendship, Sue confided in me that one of the 'fine' ladies at church wouldn't even look at her when they passed on the street. My heart went out to her!
What if you were one of those 'loners?' What if you were one of the sad ones, perhaps depressed over a recent loss? Wouldn't you like to see a smiling face? We need to be very careful that there's no one who feels left out!
And I need to be more aware that just because someone looks grumpy doesn't mean that he or she is grumpy! I need to be careful not to pre-judge.
Lord, guide us and help us spread your love to all we meet! Help us warm the lonely heart and lift a burden, if we can.
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