Walking Guy

I really don't even know where I am going with this post for sure. I just wanted to share something with you that is interesting to me. For those of you who have never been to Searcy or haven't had the blessing to visit in a long time, we actually have a four lane that runs from one side of the city to the other. This is relatively new.........probably within the last 10 years. It has relieved a lot of the congestion of other smaller streets in town........and to tell you the truth IT has become too crowded during certain times of the day. I don't know how we made it before!I take my hat off to the people involved for planning this "bypass", as some call it. They had the vision to put a sidewalk on one side so that those who like to walk could do so without the risk of walking on the street and getting hit. On parts of Beebe-Capps(the name of the four lane) there is a side walk on BOTH sides of the street!
Ok, here is where the title of the post comes in. There is a guy that walks pretty much every morning on the section of Beebe-Capps where I have to drive to get to work. If I don't see him in the morning, I will see him in the evening on the way home. Get this........from my vantage point, I think this guy tries to look at everybody that drives by him. EVERYBODY! And if you wave, he waves back! I don't know him from Adam, and my guess is that MOST people who are driving down the street don't know him either. I am not kidding, I have worried that he was going to step off the sidewalk into the street because he was so intent on seeing each person in their car. I don't walk like that. I look down or straight ahead like any "normal" person would. I would feel like an idiot if I tried to look at EVERY person who drove by me when I was walking. I think that is what this whole post is about.......me coming to the realization of who the real idiot is. Is it because I am shy that I wouldn't look at people? Probably not. More than anything, it would have to do with me not wanting to make people feel uncomfortable by looking at them.
How did we get there? I saw a show on TV a few weeks ago that was supposed to be based on a true story. A man was stabbed to death because when he got on a city bus, he didn't divert his eyes from another man who was looking at him. In other words he had the gall to look someone in the eye, and it cost him his LIFE! Yea it's sad, but it is even more sick. How did we get there? Our kids are more apt to want to watch a movie together than sit down and play a board game while looking across the table at each other. How did we get there?

If we are going to impact our communities, if we are going to be light and salt, we better be willing to look people in the eye and tell them that they have a Savior who loves them. Thanks "walking guy" for getting me out of my comfort zone, and for showing me who the real idiot is. I get to look at him every day in the mirror.