You see me…

Today was an interesting day.  The Lord had placed a village on our hearts in prayer (the Guate team and the Guatemalans we are discipling), so we were going to catch an "autobus de pollo" to scout it out.  On the way to the bus stop, we ran into one of the most precious women I have ever met in my life.  

It was Kacie's adopted abuelita–that is to say her little Guatemalan Grandma.  She first met this amazing woman of God on our first ATL (Ask The Lord) journey in Antigua.  Since then, the Lord has had Kacie love on her. Each week she will take her a meal and sit on the sidewalk and talk about life and the Lord as her abuelita tries to make a living selling chicklets (gum) 12.5 cents at a time. 

As we were speaking to her, I was impressed from the Father that we needed to invite her and her whole family over for dinner sometime soon.  I asked Kacie how big her family was and she told me it was huge–piles of grandkids. I told Kacie to have her to bring them all.

As I watched Kacie translate this to this amazing woman, something happened that I didn't expect. Uncontrolled tears started rolling down her face.  She began to tell us about her daily life and how people walk past her every day that never even take notice of her.  She then proceeded to thank us–not for inviting her to dinner–not even for inviting her family to dinner.  Her thank you was much more intense. She simply said thank you that you see me.

This wrecked me.  On one hand, I was grateful that she was blessed.  On the other hand, it made me stop to realize how many people I pass in a given day that I don't take the time to notice.  I wondered how many the Father desperately wanted to fix His gaze upon, but I missed by being consumed in the busyness of this life.  As I walked away, the prayer that rose up out of my heart was the simple one that Elisha prayed over his servant–Lord open my eyes that I may see…