Connected

It was a long day of travelling followed by a harrowing drive through an unfamiliar city. I arrived at the hotel with thoughts only of food and sleep. Too spent to venture far, I ordered a cheeseburger at the hotel bar and sat down to wait. I was counting the minutes until I could retreat to my room when a man grabbed the chair next to mine and called for a menu.

“Where you from?” He asked.

When I responded, he proceeded to explain that he was from Nebraska and was travelling back and forth every week for the next couple months to a job site here. I never did determine exactly what he did, but I was surprised when a few minutes later, after he had placed his order and departed, I felt my spirits lifted. Sometimes the simplest of human connections can make you feel less alone.

The next couple days contained more driving, meetings, presentations. But, I’ll never forget when I finally arrived at the main event, and one of the organizers introduced herself.

“I am your buddy. I am here to make sure you have everything you need,” she said.

She escorted me throughout the day. She showed me to my presentation room, joined me for lunch, checked in on me during my meetings. What a simple and powerful message that sent to me: I’m glad you’re here. I’m here to help.

I was starting to sense a theme of this trip, but God wasn’t done with me yet.

I was safely through airport security and standing gate-side when a mother with two little girls laden with luggage hurried by. A dozen feet from me, a container the little girl was carrying sprung open, and markers flew through the air. Dozens – I mean dozens – of markers. They clattered to the floor, bounced on the tile, rolled in every direction. The look on the little girl’s face was one of complete shock; the look on the mother’s one of complete helplessness. I barely had time to register what had happened when the scene was nearly lost from view for all the people who rushed forward to help. Other passengers who had been standing nearby bent down. People who were walking by stopped. A pilot who was waiting for his gate stepped forward.

“Thank you,” the mother kept saying.

Within moments, the case was filled, the cover was snapped shut, the flow of people was moving again. The mother and little girl vanished from my view.

I made a last trip to the restroom before my plane started boarding. I was in the stall when I heard someone on the other side say: “Thank you for keeping this restroom so clean for us. You are doing a great job. I really appreciate it.”

I could almost see the surprise on the worker’s face through the bathroom stall.

Okay God, I get it.

All around us are a million ways that we can reach out to another. It’s so easy for me to focus on myself and the thoughts that preoccupy my day, but it’s not much harder to shift that focus ever so gently outward. It can be as simple as a casual conversation with a stranger. Or the comforting presence of being nearby in case you’re needed. It can be a physical act of helping when things come crashing down around someone. It can be a word of appreciation.

Look around. In the next few minutes, someone is going to enter your sphere of influence. A stranger on the plane. A coworker in the office. A family member on the phone. A friend who just popped into your mind.

Don’t let this moment pass. Give an encouraging word, a friendly smile, a pat on the back, or a quick note to say “I’m thinking of you.”

God has connected us for a reason.