“I’d Want To Be Seen.”

I think sometimes we make helping others a bigger performance than it needs to be, like if you’re not donating blood or volunteering at the homeless shelter three days a week, then you aren’t actually making a difference. I’m not dissing the people who are doing these things because it’s great that they are! We need people to do these.

But sometimes, lending a hand looks more like lending an ear or lending your voice. It’s taking a moment to invest deeply in the life of one individual rather than many or to serve quietly in the background while others do the upfront work.

Sometimes it means seeing and stopping.

Once while I was in Chicago walking along a crowded sidewalk, I noticed a woman sitting on the curb with a piece of cardboard clutched in her fingers. She didn’t stand with this sign, actively seeking the gaze of other pedestrians; rather, this woman was sitting in a tight ball with the sign held in front of her bowed head.

Something about her humble posture slowed my clipped steps.

I walked past her and then stopped by a tree where I turned and looked at her. My friend stopped with me, wondering what was going on. I pointed out this woman to her. Desperately, I wanted to give her money, but believe it or not, I had none to give. I felt helpless.

“Well, if you were her, what would you want most?” My friend’s wise words gripped my attention and suddenly changed my afternoon plan.

“I’d want to be seen.”

Weaving my way through the crowd, I returned to the woman and sat beside her on the cool curb. Like a flower blossom in sunlight, the woman unfurled from her closed knot. Her English was halting, but then she spoke Spanish, which I happen to understand.

Honestly, I don’t remember much of our conversation.

But this woman lives in my memory as a reminder of how important it is to be seen and how critical it is to enter into life with those around us—no matter how painful or ordinary.

What About You?

Have you had a moment where the best thing you could offer to someone else was your time? Is there anyone in your life who you need to actually see?