"Do you see this woman?"

Often, as I drive up my street in the evening after school and whatever meeting or ballgame I've been to, I wonder about my neighbor whom I hardly ever see. During the summer, I see her nearly every day because I'm in my back yard, and she's in her back yard, so we talk over the fence. She came to mind again on Sunday morning as we heard the story from Luke 7. And I also thought of all those people I walk past without seeing during a normal week--people in the grocery store, on the street, or even in my own classroom.

Jesus certainly saw everyone. He knew their names, understood their sorrows, was acutely aware of their needs. Obviously we lack the power of Jesus, but we do have the Holy Spirit living in us if we are God's children. Romans 8:14 declares, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Surely if we ask God to help us be aware of the people around us, he will prompt us to stop and look, think about our neighbors and friends--or strangers who might need a kind word.

Recently, I've been doing some lessons with my sophomores surrounding the Holocaust and the book Night by Elie Weisel. I'm asking them to think about assumptions we make based on a person's name or looks. I need to ponder these things myself. It's so easy to "write off" a person as being past hope or not worth the effort, but that young man Jesus raised up in Nain was dead. It would seem no one is past hope.

It's so easy--too easy--to get busy and forget to pay attention. It takes no effort to fall into the trap of thinking we know whatever we need to know about a certain group or individual. I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit to help me see, really see, my family, my neighbors, and all those people I pass by in the hallway or on the stairs. I can sit for a minute and talk, share a bowl of soup, or spend a moment in prayer.

That's going to be my goal this week.

--Sherry Poff