To the little girl who shared her worries about moving up to second grade, as she struggled to read her book.
I hear you, sweet child. I hate your anxiety at such a precious innocent age. I won’t forget your worries. I will be praying for your reading skills to progress just in time for the year’s end. I am sad you need to think about such things. You are so beautiful, so adorable, and so delicate. May your spirit not be broken. Please know, that I see that you have potential to pass this grade…and so much more.
So much more…
To the middle aged man in the store, who shared all of the blessings his mother gave to him throughout his life.
I hear you, cherished son. Your mother’s love was like no other. Your eyes shined so bright when you talked about her calling you every day since you moved, and how she took you to college and unpacked your bags for you. How she ran to the end zone during your first high school football game just in time to cheer you in the touchdown. I heard every precious word of your memories. May you believe that I too, will honor her memory with you. And please know, I see that there is no mother quite like her.
Not like her…
To the amazingly beautiful and articulate mom who shared a piece of her heart and a chapter of her story with me during our kids’ dance class.
I hear you, honorable woman. Your strength and perseverance are like no other. Yet, you’re too humble to acknowledge your incredible determination and victory over darkness. You exude a quality that is rare in its authenticity and courage. You are a woman of God and a woman of integrity, for which I am so honored to have your company. You inspire me. And my heart aches for you in many ways, although you wouldn’t want it too. You don’t want pity. It is time, time for you to be blessed. You won’t release your relentless grip on survival. It’s a powerful mighty force you hold. I celebrate your victories. And I acknowledge your vulnerable hiding place snug deep in the corner of your heart. Oh how I see you, so beautiful and composed. I sense your devotion to all that is right. I hear your pleas as you hope for a new turn… And I desperately pray for your road to bring you all that you deserve.
All that you deserve.
And as I go forth in my day, I continue to be blessed by new souls. To each and every one of you…
Please know~
I see you. I hear you.
You bless me.
And after I leave you, I hold you in my heart and embrace the gift of knowing you.
*So my sweet readers, when you are going about your busy day… always remember there are so many precious people who want to be seen and be heard. Make time for them. They are worthy of that. And in doing so, you will be blessed for knowing them.*
My grandfather, who died the year my middle kid was born, used to tell me to find someone – didn’t matter who – and talk to them. Ask them questions, get to know them, find out what life was like for them, because that is the way you learn and grow. He didn’t mention the blessing I’d be or the blessings I’d get in return, but I think he wanted me to figure that out for myself. It is a lesson I will never forget. I struggle to meet new people – I have never liked saying hi first – but I’m working on that in his memory. I, too, keep my readers near and dear to my heart and in my prayers, though I don’t know most of them. I know that I have hurts and struggles as well as things I’m grateful and feel blessed for, so they do, too. I can pray for those unknowns, and be an unknown blessing and encouragement to them. I’m more than ok with that. 🙂
Oh what a beautiful story you share here, Julie!! Your grandfather was an amazing man of great wisdom. Everyone has their own unique way of listening and looking… I find that quiet souls are often the most dedicated and devoted of all. God uses each and every one of us to have an impact and be blessed in return. Thank you so much for sharing Julie!!
You’re welcome. I miss him greatly, but will never forget the impact he had and still has on my life. He definitely left a legacy.
Chris you are such a treasure! To find, acknowledge and highlight the stories of individuals that have crossed your path and honor them in such a beautifully moving way. It reminds me of how we are ALL loved and special as God’s children. You honor him as well as those you write about.
What a BEAUTIFUL comment Marcia!!! Oh I am just soaking it up… There are so many souls out there that we are blessed to discover. I still think about these three, but there will be more to come. If we keep our eyes and ears open… the impact can be powerful on our hearts. Thank you for your precious encouragement. You KNOW how much that means to me. 🙂
What a great reminder, thank you!
We all need a reminder to pay attention to people on our path. Not just the ones we know and love, but often the treasure is in the strangers we encounter and the stories they share. I hate to think of all the blessings I missed on any given day I passed by such an opportunity. Thanks so much for stopping by Kerri!
This is absolutely beautiful. My thought for the day, the week, the year. Opening your heart and listening to someone who just wants to be seen and heard is one of life’s greatest gifts.I hope you don’t mind if I share.
Oh Lisa!!! I am so glad you shared! Thank you so very much. I just love your comment. It is EXACTLY the message I wanted to share. Your words are perfect- “Opening your heart and listening to someone who just wants to be seen and heard is one of life’s greatest gifts.” Oh how I love that!
That was lovely. The first one about the little girl and her reading almost made me cry!
Thanks so much Stephanie! Yes- she was so precious… when I volunteer at school, I usually help the ones who struggle with reading. This little girl just pierced my heart that morning. I can’t stop thinking about her and actually talked to the teacher about her. I see a future beautiful woman with so many gifts and success all around her… she just doesn’t know it yet in her little world.
Found you through Prowess and Pearls. And, what a great find you are! Your words are inspiring and touching. Blessings to you!
Thank you SO much for stopping by Cynthia!! Thank you so much for your encouragement! 🙂
{Melinda} This is why I love you, Chris. You feel deeply. You see people. Really see them. Thank you for sharing the gift of your words. You are always inspiring to me.
And you have just blessed me… because you Melinda, hear me and see me.
Wow. This is so beautiful, Chris. I’m almost embarrassed that you read my crazy rants right now! I guess we found one another to share our “specialties” with each other. Yours is obviously brilliant compassion and kindness. Mine? Hmmmm…stories about explosive diarrhea? 🙂
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! You crack me up Stephanie!!! I am SO glad you came by!! Little do you know, I can pitch a MEAN post on explosive Diarrhea and then some! You just caught me on a deep day. 😉 I love your humor and your blog! If you talked with any of my real life friends, you would know that I am absolutely crazy, but truth be told…this deeper side of me is what I love to share most. Here’s one example of a post you might appreciate!!
https://www.themomcafe.com/schoolsnowday/
Oh, Chris. I embrace the gift of knowing you! Beautiful, as per usual, my friend.
Oh Jennifer, I simply cherish this comment…more than you’ll ever know! Thank you thank you thank you…
Beautiful post! It just reminds me of how much we miss when we don’t take time to just be with others we come into contact with each day. Thank you for the wonderful reminder. 🙂
Stopping by via Shell and Pour Your Heart Out…
Exactly Melanie!! When I take the time and energy to truly listen and see the many souls I encounter through my day, I discover the richness of humanity. I am painfully aware of all the souls I neglect in my fast paced self absorbed world, and there are times I miss out on the blessing of this beautiful part of life. I need to remind myself every day to pay attention… and in so doing, I become a better person. Thank you so much for stopping by! So grateful. 🙂
Wow this is amazing!
Oh thank you SO much Ashley!! So grateful you stopped by! 🙂
Very touching, Chrissy. I need to look for people who just need to be seen and heard. . .I will practice tomorrow at swimming.
I hope you found some souls to listen to and see in swimming! They are all around… and when we truly open our hearts and our eyes and our ears, we can learn from them and be blessed by their story. You know this. You have that ability to value those you encounter with a thoughtful heart and I believe I acquired this trait from you. 🙂
These people are lucky to cross paths with you. So often people are judged for expressing the emotions you describe. I think that when we open up and express feelings like that we hope for a listener such as yourself.
Oh thank you SO much Katia!! It saddens me to think of the people who reach out to be heard and seen, and in turn find judgement or worse yet, they are discarded as a nuisance. Everyone has a voice, and a story… and they are worthy of our attention and respect.
Oh yes Chris! I love this!! Each and every person is important to Christ and if they’re important to Him…they’d better be important to us! Who knows, as the Bible tells us…we could be entertaining angels unaware! Thanks Chris for reminding us that EVERYONE matters! Thanks for stopping by and linking up…have a lovely evening my friend! xoxoxo
YES Michell!!! I love that verse, and everyone does matter, and they deserve to be heard and seen! I am aware of all the times I neglected this truth in my life- when I am self absorbed I don’t see the souls that need validation and God calls us to acknowledge all His children. They are worthy of our attention.
Okay…I’m wiping away tears here, Chris. I honestly believe that one of the most powerful statements is “I hear you”. I think we all just want to be heard and understood. We need to do that for each other.
Whooo, you hit this one out of the park, my friend. Just beautiful. –Lisa
AW!!! Thank you SO much Lisa!! Isn’t that the truth? Everyone wants to be heard and seen… and though we may take the time in our close circles, there are so many souls we encounter along the way that deserve the same.
wow, how beautifully written dear Chris! You are an inspiration the way you truly listen, see, and care about people. It is a privilege to cross other new ‘souls’ paths…always blessed for knowing and hearing them. My profession was one way God hand selected for me to be able to do this with each patient I meet. He knew the physical part would be very much secondary to connecting with that soul and ‘hearing’ them. There is no greater reward than when you can see in their eyes that they know someone has truly heard them. They always look ‘lighter’ somehow, a twinkle comes to their eyes,their body language screams ‘Thank you, I just want to be heard and you care enough to want to hear me.’
“They always look ‘lighter’ somehow, a twinkle comes to their eyes,their body language screams ‘Thank you, I just want to be heard and you care enough to want to hear me.’”… THAT is the blessing!!! Oh how I know you get this!! Is there anything more rewarding? And to think of all the souls we have been blessed to know! And I think of all the souls I have missed along my hurried way…
I watched this though tears, but it is sooo appropriate for this post. Love you!!
http://www.upworthy.com/a-comedian-silences-a-room-for-9-minutes-its-not-an-awkward-silence
Wow. Still crying. Thank you for sharing this… I hope others take the time to watch it. I shared it on FB. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cry more…
Wow. I just watched this and shared it on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/whencrazymeetsexhaustion). Thank you <3
It’s pretty powerful, isn’t it Stephanie? So glad you took the time to watch it!! And bless your heart for coming back to share it’s impact on you. I appreciate you!
Yes. Truth. Lord let me be aware today.
That is my prayer too, Steph. 🙂
What a beautiful post!
It is so easy sometimes to go through life and not “hear” those around us. And yet so important that we do. Each person that we meet affects us in some way.
That is SO so true!! And if we allow it, the impact can be quite powerful. SO glad you stopped by my friend! 🙂
What a beautiful reminder about the people we encounter everyday and how their stories have so much to teach us – there is so much to learn from each other. Such a lovely post, Chris.
Thank you SO much Kim! Seriously, if we just take a little more time and energy to step out of our comfy little path… it’s amazing how much we can learn from others. Thanks so much for stopping by!! 🙂
To take the time to really listen to others’ stories- you are giving them a gift.
Thanks Shell. And in turn, they are giving me a gift as well. 🙂 It’s always there for the taking- if we just open our eyes and ears.
This one stopped me in my tracks. I’m so guilty of being too busy to hear what’s really going on around me. Thank you!
It’s so easy to fly by people or turn away or even (I have done this) dismiss them with a “Oh that is terrible/wonderful but I really am in a hurry. You take care of YOURSELF okay?!”… too many times I have said this while starting to walk away. Or just showing that powerful nonverbal signal of “I don’t want to hear your story- just shut up and check me out.” Yep. Done that too. ETC. Many more where those came from. But wow- what amazing souls we have missed out on knowing…
Hi, you’d dropped in from Sits girls to check out my site and I thought I’d pop in to check yours out and I am so…glad…I did. I’ve never teared up reading things on blogs before. It wasn’t just the stories that touched me, it was your responsed. It was like this feeling of unconditional love, acceptance and it was beautiful. I’ve struggled so many times in my live with crippling anxiety and I hope that one day, if I need a kind word that I can drop you a note and you can cheer up my heart. You have so much beauty in you, thank you for sharing it….
Oh Kylie… I can’t tell you how deeply touched I am with what you shared. First of all, thank you. Thank you for hearing ME and seeing ME. I can’t begin to tell you the impact your words have on my heart. I too, live with anxiety and have suffered long years battling it. I have come a long way, but still can be captive of this horrible ailment. I hear you sweet, new friend. I see you… your heart is beautiful too. And any time you need encouragement.. always know, you have a friend here.
Chris, you once again reminded me beautifully what life is all about. People do want to been seen and heard – and many come to you for it. You have a gift, a gift that makes others happy and feel important. No matter if I see you for a few moments or for hours, I always leave your company better off than when I started. I’ll be on the lookout more now for those who want to be seen and heard. Thank you.
Oh Jennifer!! Your words are so beautiful and encouraging to me!!! Thank you thank you thank you thank you…. SO grateful.
This is so beautiful. I love that you are able to see how beautiful our bothers and sisters are (or as Glennon at Momastery would say, brutiful). Once we can look past someone’s outer shell and shed our own self-centeredness, it’s amazing the beauty and joy we will find in humankind. It makes it so much easier to forgive and have grace for our “neighbor”.
Thanks so much Stephanie!! I am more mindful every day of those beautiful souls I encounter… every single one of them has a story. But I stand convicted that I do not stop and listen enough. I absolutely love your comment. It’s just so true that we can find beauty and joy in humankind, and it does soften our hearts for grace. Thank you for sharing. I am so so happy you took the time to read this post. 🙂
LOVE this, Chris! Thanks for sharing. What a great reminder to look past the surface and truly ‘see’ someone. Think of all the love, support, and encouragement we could spread by seeing more deeply, more often!
AW thanks so much Nicole!!! There really is so much out there to take in… the richness is in our view, and what we do with it.
You are a DEAR to take the time to read it, love!! Thank you so so much. XOXO
Sweet reminder needed, almost daily, to just stop; think about and listen to those around me. I often get so busy trying to DO things for other people and not sure why slowing down to hear them is so hard for me. This is an area I want to be better at in all my relationships.
Every soul on earth wants to be heard and seen, and how often we have missed many. Thank you for this reminder today to stop by and see someone for who they are inside and not how they look on the outside.
Every child, every parent, every adult will then reciprocate and see someone else as well
CWBU is a great platform for bloggers, so thank for that as well
Diana