People Watching

By Roberta Jarvis

You might not know it but I am a people watcher! I LOVE it! It’s one of my all time favourite past times and it’s up there with talking and connecting with others.

Recently I’ve been thinking …which I might add I do a LOT … about the time I spend alone with God and if I’m being REALLY honest my quiet moments have been squished into very small moments and I’m working on it (Got a great tip recently though … put a blanket over your head in the midst of the madness when the kids are surrounding you… thanks Gillie a great idea!) 

Right lets not get off track Roberta … so people watching … just like spending real quality time with God it has got to be done not when you're in the midst of the madness but when you take time to move out to the side. When you take the time to move out from the crowd and step back from what’s going on around you and observe life from a different view point, in those moments you've taken time to notice others and God can OPEN your eyes to the bigger picture! 

You might not be like me and that is great, but you may be like me and theres nothing you love more than being in the midst of a central hub of activity. Wherever you are on this scale I urge you to take time out to people watch! Now don’t be grabbing a chair, a clip board and plonk yourself smack bang in the middle of the street taking notes! Do it in a quiet non obtrusive manner, non judgemental, embracing the rhythm of the community that surrounds you. 

Let me ask you a couple of questions?! Will you be the one who takes time on a Sunday morning to notice the person who sits alone, or the young woman who hangs around the building until the very last minute, desperate to be invited back to lunch because she wants to feel part of something more?

God places the lonely in families …
Psalm 68:6 NLT

Will you see the mum who's exhausted and struggling with small children who needs support and reassurance that it’s going to be ok? Will you see the girl who's secretly crying in the toilets because she's bearing the pain of a broken down relationship? 

He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted …
Isaiah 61;1 NIV


Will you take the time to see what God sees? 

Taking the time away from the vibrant hub of activity and making yourself invisible provides a precious opportunity to make others visible!

So go, get to it and do some people watching ladies!!!