Have you ever met a person and right away realized that person would be a part of your life from then on? No? That's just me then? Well, that was the case for me. A young woman named Madeline crossed my path months ago. I was at an FHE activity and that week we had combined families and gone laser tagging! Very fun. I noticed this young woman standing all by herself. Feeling empathetic and lonely myself I decided the only reasonable thing to do was to go talk to her. Not soon after, I had realized that was just not something she wanted. She put up the facade that she didn't want to be talked to. She was cold. She was demeaning. She was electrifying. The more she fought against the attention I gave her, the more I wanted to understand her. Finally understanding my concern for her, she began to let her guard down a bit. Within minutes tears welled up in her eyes and it seemed as though no one else was in the room. She was all that mattered at that moment. Seeing this beautiful young woman in such agony crushed a part of my soul.
As I walked home that night I pondered on her situation and how much the Lord must love her. I had two other occasions on which I had the good fortune to converse with her again. Both deemed insightful and oddly inspiring. Through her shrewdness I was able to see a fragile woman with the desire to just be loved. Not just loved by others, but herself as well. The latter seemingly the hardest, but what would I know of that?
Today, I got a knock at my door after work and it was her. Madeline put a beautiful necklace around my neck that she made and told me how she appreciated me. I had done nothing but listen. Much to my surprise and disheartenment, it became strikingly obvious to me that she had not the companionship of a listening ear or an understanding heart. Madeline is a prime reminder to me of how much everyone needs to be loved. One of the best ways of showing love is by listening with an open mind and heart.
So who are you? Are you the one who witnesses the person sitting by themselves and turns away to talk to a familiar face? Are you the one who goes over to talk to the person no matter the sharpness of their tongue? Or are you the one sitting alone crying out for help without ever uttering a word? If you are, know that you aren't alone. Everyone has been or will be at some point in their lives in your similar emotional state. But you can be a miracle to someone today. Madeline was mine. Why can't you be that for someone else? What a miracle!
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