Reaching out, no matter how hard it seems

It should be no secret to anyone that I use mass transit to get to work everyday. Normally riding the bus home is a peaceful endeavor. For about 20 minutes or so, it gives me the chance to unwind and focus on other matters.

But such was not the case a few days ago. As I ran to make my connection and head back into Cobb County, I sauntered on to the bus with hopes of having a peaceful trip home. But instead that was intereputed by a young man who claimed I looked at him funny.

"When you came on to the bus and nodded your head were you looking at me," he asked.

Dumbfounded I thought he was talking to someone else. Until he yelled out.
"No you, I 'm talking to you," he said.

My reply was swift and quick - sir I don't know who you are, nor did I say anything to anyone.

It was one of those moments that was extremely tense and others took note of it.

A nearby passenger told the young man - "You sound like one of my high school students - You looked at me wrong and I'm mad at you."

He quickly told her that he wasn't a highschool student and said something about how he didn't like people looking at him funny.

It's a sad day in society when someone can get bent out of shape because they are under the misconception that someone looked at them funny. But what's also very telling is this, it's pretty sad when we don't reach back and talk to those individuals about what's going on with them and why they're so upset.

Let's face it, a lot of people are going through tremendous pain right now. Whether its because of the economy, loss of a loved one, or just the pressures of daily life. The difficult part is knowing how to reach out to those people who're in pain and trying to soothe them. Isn't that wohat Jesus would do?

I'll be honest, thinking about Christ wasn't on my mind when this was occurring. I honestly thought that I was going to have to get into a senseless fight or argument. But what if I had asked the young man what was going on in his life, what if I had reached out to him and started a conversation or a dialogue.

I think all too often we as Christians are afraid to take this leap of faith. Some of us are afraid and honestly and truly are afraid for our personal safety when it comes to speaking out like this. But I think these are the exact times that we should reach out and offer a helping hand, because these are the times when our brothers and sisters are crying out for help the most.

If I could do this all over again, I would have approached him and apologized and asked if everything was ok with him. I would have talked to him about his life and what his dreams and aspirations are. I would try and reach out to him. At the very least, I can still pray for him.