When strangers remind us that the world may not be so lost after all…

Every now and then, a stranger reaches through the noise of the world and presses the little button inside of me that says, See? All is not lost.

I grew up being told to have faith in people because they will surprise you. Now, to be fair, the surprise is not always good. Sometimes people surprise you in the way a flat tire surprises you. But I was raised to believe there is good in all people, and life keeps handing me little proof notes.

I call them God Whispers.

I have always been that person who talks to everyone, everywhere. When my grandkids were little, they used to ask if I knew everybody. I told them, “No, baby. We are all on the journey together. You never know when you might make someone’s day.”

Truth is, those moments often make mine.

Once, while I was working in customer service, just doing my job and being myself, a woman pulled me aside. She had just come from chemo. With tears in her eyes and her hand on my arm, she said, “I had to tell you, I see Jesus in you. Your smile, your humor, your kindness touched me today. You were my God thing.”

Well. That will stop a person right where they stand. That day was heavy for me, personally I was struggling wondering what to do, how I would go on and help a situation in my life. Then one chance encounter and my heart felt filled, I knew God was in the details…

I told her she was my God Whisper. Because people like her are the reason I keep believing the world will be okay… as long as good people keep spreading light, one smile, one laugh, one small kindness at a time.

We all need to feel seen. Heard. Not so alone. And sometimes, a stranger does that for us before they even know we needed it.

So I keep trying to live by this… Be kind. You never know what anyone is going through. Kindness is never a mistake. It may not always be returned, but the seeds we sow may grow somewhere we never see and help someone else find their faith in people again.