Sketches

A Cafe "people watcher" spots me out and sketches a face of what appears to be me. I am taken back as the sketch is pushed in front of me for my eyes to view. I am puzzled. Could this really be me? Where is she that carries a smile on her face? The shadowed face before me looking so sad to a "watcher" at the local Cafe. "This is not me" I proclaim from my voice within.

How each set of eyes view and judge the human soul.

A face of an angel or a glamorous smile can hide many flaws and be deceitful, while a distorted or somber face can be judged as pain and fearful to look upon- all along within the secret of true happiness and humility abides.

The only eyes that can view into our soul and sketch truth is "You."

Sketching a person with out a smile is no crime, I was flattered by the sketch. The young man was a poor collage student, I assumed he was trying to earn a meal by sketching some woman who looked like she might be kind enough to buy him breakfast.


As Melanie and I chatted with him about school and life I gathered information about this individual, he had few to no friends, he was working out some calculation of math showing us his talent and I noticed track marks on his veins, my heart bled for him wondering how hard this young mans life must be. So we offered to buy him breakfast. Melanie took it upon her kind heart and insisted she would buy his food. Melaine has the heart of a saint.


Together Mel and I have picked up a student walking in 4ft snow on his way to a job and late for. Or the time we sighted a man on the side of the road hiking up a hill with bags of groceries on the handle bars of his beaten bike and the biggest smile on his face, just happy to be here in America after leaving his third world country to make a better life. The time we stopped to give a ride to a woman with three children sitting at a bus stop. Saw a young pregnant girl walking to a bus stop from the hospital all alone. Driving her to my home and giving her used baby items trying to ease what worry I could see in her life for her unborn child as I drove her to a motel in the "bad" part of town. This list goes on and continues.

I have sketched a memory of all these people upon my mind and can't help but wonder how many more have I missed and the opportunity gone to offer a little help in their day. It is humbling and a heart warming experience to give something so small. My eyes become open to what is good in life and my own sorrows become trivial when I see a life of true hardship and people that have gone with out. Teaching my heart never to judge people and their circumstance.

Thanks to God above for all that I am blessed with.








“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
-Laura Ingalls Wilder