"Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand: Make this World a Better Place..."

As I stood in the check-out line at Safeway the other day, a young woman whose groceries were being checked out was talking on her cell phone, paying little attention to what was going on around her. I wondered if she would get off the phone when it was time to manage the ATM machine and get her groceries. But alas, she continued multi-tasking. I observed what-I-thought was an expression of irritation by the cashier who was being completely ignored. Meanwhile, the whole check-out process was slowed to a near halt while everyone in line waited—albeit impatiently. In short, her preoccupation prevented her from paying attention to the people around her.

But you don’t have to be on a cell phone to be preoccupied. Who of us has never been so lost in our own thoughts, so self-occupied, we couldn't see someone God wanted to touch through us.

Each person who crosses your path today is important to God. Do you realize that God is working in their hearts, just as He is yours? Maybe He wants to use you to touch them with kindness. But if preoccupied, you won’t—and His love and kindness cannot touch them.

Try going into this new day with your eyes open for the people you'll encounter at the store, the office, the school, or wherever you're headed. When that Starbucks barista or grocery clerk asks ‘how are you?’ respond with a heart-felt “and how are YOU?” Give them your full attention and see how God uses you to touch them. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Mat. 5:16).