God Knows, He sees, and He Cares

I had a surreal experience at the lake today.

I finished running, and as I was headed to my car, I passed an elderly man sitting on a park bench. I suppose he had been watching me run because he commented that he wished he had as much energy as I do. I thanked him, as he extended his hand to introduce himself. When I shook his hand I could tell he was lonely, so I paused for a minute to talk, to show a little kindness to an elder. With tears in his eyes, he turned my hand over, pointed to my palm, and said, “Right here, you have the power to either show kindness or to close your hand to it. By extending your hand to me today, you chose to show kindness, and when you smiled, I saw God’s goodness radiate from you, like the sun in the sky. Thank you!”

Then he asked if I lived in the area; I answered, 'yes sir, for another week, then I'll be moving to MS.' He asked why I was moving. I explained that I'd experienced a divorce the previous year, and I wanted to move back home to be with family. With tears welling up in his eyes again, he asked me to “sit down beside this old man, and let me talk to you a minute.” As I sat there holding his hand, tears streaming down his face, he told me his story. He explained how his infidelity destroyed both his marriages; then he lamented, “You’d think I’d learned my lesson the first time around. But, I didn't. I was a fool. Now, I'm old and alone. And I've never experienced real love.”

I didn't offer any details of my divorce experience and he didn't ask.

As I started to leave, he reached for my hand again and said, “Young lady, you're a very special person. You're beautiful, intelligent, and you radiated God’s goodness. You have so much to offer, don't sell yourself short, don't settle. God has a great future in store for you.” Then he said, “Thank you for being so kind to this old man today. Heaven has smiled upon me, for this is as close as I've ever been to an angel.”

And I went home, with tears streaming down my face...
Because, I feel that God was using this elderly man to let me know...He knows, He sees, and He cares! I matter to Him.

Psalms 56:8 “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”