One day when I was walking the city streets where I was giving a series of talks, I saw what appeared to be an older woman hunched over with a sign asking for help. At first I passed her, on my way to visit the local drugstore. But then I came back around when I realized that I had not been very mindful upon first seeing her. I didn’t have much cash to give her, but as I always tell everyone else in my talks, oftentimes what people need more than cash is someone to at least acknowledge them. I reached into my pocket to give her what little I had and I simply said, “Hello. I hope you are okay and I hope you can use this.”
When her face turned toward me I saw she was probably only about sixteen years of age and she was very beautiful. She smiled immediately and said how much this meant to her. She gathered up her few belongings and I watched her walk to a café for a meal. I turned to walk back to my lodging and I thought to myself, “She could have been my daughter.” That’s when the still, small voice spoke to me saying, “Don’t you understand? That was your daughter!”
Who is your daughter or son, your mother or father? Who is your neighbor? Better yet, in whom do you see Jesus? A young homeless girl on the street can take on so many forms: stranger, neighbor, daughter, and Jesus. Unless we are mindful of those in our midst, we miss the chance to see any of them. We must never be fooled by appearance. That day I almost missed seeing my Lord.
—Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS