God is in the little things!

In my quiet time an experience I had one summer in New York came to mind. In that moment I was taught a valuable and unforgettable lesson while riding the subway.

Exhausted and excited after spending my day in Harlem on 125th street, I walked to the subway platform, grabbed a local newspaper and waited patiently for the train to arrive. I had been briefed on subway protocol; watch your surroundings, don’t talk to anybody and keep your eyes focused on yourself.

When the train screeched to a stop, I got on and noticed a seat in the back of the car-I swiftly moved to the seat, settled my belongings and focused on reading my paper. With the newspaper open wide, the train was in motion and I was safely headed back to Queens. Somewhere in the midst of being consumed with the news, a young man boarded the train and was sitting directly across from me.

I eased back into reading the news, making a point to avoid eye contact. Intrigued by the young man, I looked over again and realized a second gentleman had boarded the train and was sitting next to him. The first young man sitting across from me seemed unbothered by the extra company, instead, he remained close to the wall of the train with his head hanging low. Suddenly, this scene was more interesting than what I was reading. Looking from behind the paper, I pretended to read as I quietly witnessed an exchange between the two men.

I failed to mention that the young man sitting across from me appeared to be homeless (or close to it), while the second gentleman appeared to be a business man on his way home from work.

In an act of gentle kindness, the gentleman on his way home from work took two small bags of Cool Ranch Doritos from his brief case and silently slid them over to the young man. The young man perked up,lifted his head and whispered thank you.

Forever changed by that experience, my prayers are that I maximize my opportunities to share the love of Christ (i.e. smile, hello, give...), and not get comfortable avoiding opportunities to meet the needs of another.