Christian Living

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Yesterday, I had to visit a neighbouring city because I had an appointment regarding our passports. I set off early in the morning with one aim in mind; to get there on time with the correct documents. I did do that, in that respect it was a successful trip, however I came away with a lot more. Unexpectedly I realised something when I returned home. Unexpectedly, I felt the Lord talking to me. I was unaware of the effect the simple task I had planned would have on me.
Firstly, I had to get a bus to my own city centre to get to the train station. The bus was fairly busy, it was past rush hour but there were still a fair few travellers on board. I noticed one girl in particular, she looked as if she was in her early twenties, very quiet and very pensive. She kept herself to herself and exited the bus very quietly. Then I saw her a few minutes later, she had left before me but I caught her up, and now she wasn't alone. She had met up with a friend, a girl of similar age and with a similar style of dress. They were laughing and talking, obviously both very happy and very excited. I wondered as I walked by what the rest of their day would involve. Had they met up after a long time or did they see each other every day? Did they have plans or were they just going to see where the day took them? Whatever the outcome, they seemed happy in each other's presence and the quiet girl from the bus had transformed into an energetic and animated friend.
I then got the train to the other city, a simple thirty minute journey which was straight-forward enough. I arrived far too early for my appointment and, as it was around lunchtime, I decided to get something to eat. I stood in the middle of the busy station weighing up my options when something else caught my eye. A man who obviously worked there was standing just in front of me, directing people to certain platforms and offering help to other passengers. A couple of his colleagues came in through a door and waved as they walked by him. One of them, a female, smiled at him and looked shyly away. As she carried on to wherever she was going I noticed her look back at him a few more times. He didn't seem to notice but I definitely did. I understood the look, I had given it myself many years ago and I knew instantly what it meant. She saw more in him than his other friends did, saw more than the other employees did and to her, he wasn't just a colleague. The thing I didn't know, the thing I will most probably never find out is how he felt about her. Were her feelings unrequited? Was he even available? There was no way to tell, he was busy doing his job, but I know the look I saw from her. That snapshot, those few seconds, they gave away so much. I guess I will never know the outcome.
On my return to the station later on, once my appointment was over, I was stopped by a couple of ladies. They held onto their suitcases and looked unknowingly at their surroundings. They asked me if I knew where a particular hotel was located, which I didn't and then they looked even more lost. Luckily, a man overheard them ask and he came over to assist them, but it got me wondering what they were doing. Were they meeting others there? Were they on a hen night, or maybe a business trip? I left them to make their way over to their accommodation for the evening and I started on my journey home.
Last night, whilst I was remembering my day in my head, something struck me, something which came out of nowhere; all the people I came across yesterday, all those I had conversations with and those I didn't, the ones I noticed and the ones that my gaze didn't land upon, they are all God's children. Every single one of them. Of course i know this as a fact, we hear all the time how we are all part of His family and how we all belong to God. But yesterday was different. Yesterday I didn't just picture a generic group of people in my head, an array of characters from various parts of the world who all came together under God's all-powerful gaze. I saw real people, real lives and real situations. As well as the ones I have already mentioned there was the family with the newborn baby in the passport office, the very kind and chatty ticket inspector on the train, and the woman with the young son who must have been around the age of four or five. I watched as she protected him in the way that only a mother knows how amongst the busy and noisy city streets. I saw small glimpses of these people as they went about their daily business, a few seconds of their lives and I was privileged to witness it. All of these people, all of the faces I only saw for moments at a time, everyone living their own lives, they are all, just as I am, wonderfully and lovingly made, not to mention loved with a love too powerful to describe. Their stories, their families, their interests, their feelings, they all matter. They matter to Him who made them, to their Heavenly Father who loves them unconditionally. I noticed them yesterday, I did, I noticed them and I wondered about them, and now I know why; because we are all part of the same family, His family. We are all important. Whatever we are doing, we all matter. Their own personal stories, all of which I will never actually know as i only saw seconds of their lives, they matter. And it made me feel a part of something. I matter too. I belong here, with everyone else. We are all wonderfully and lovingly made. By God, who loves us unconditionally. I thank God for showing me those people yesterday and for giving me a brief look into their lives. Because they are all important. Everyone is. Whatever their circumstance, whatever they are going through, the experiences, the situations, the people that are part of their lives, they all matter. And it made me realise just how wonderful and powerful our Heavenly Father is, and how, unworthy as I would deem myself, I am as well. To my God I am important, to Him I am special, and I am loved. I am incredibly blessed. And I wish I could live my day again and tell all those people, so that they might feel it too. Because knowing it can get you through anything! No matter what your day has in store.

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