A few weeks ago I met a young woman. She was very tall and thin. I would guess her to be around 22 years old and she had two of the saddest eyes I have ever seen. Over the course of the very short amount of time I worked with her I made several attempts to get to know her but always felt as if the wall she surrounded herself with was not going to be any easy one to break through. I’ve learned that taking your time with someone like this is important so I distanced myself a bit but never missed an opportunity to say hello. Last Wednesday I went to count the bank deposit after she finished preparing it and I thought. “I still haven’t made a connection with her. What can I do?” I turned in the office chair to the hook the cash bag hangs on and I saw an opportunity. There were several push pins on the bulletin board completely out of work so I decided to arrange them in the shape of a happy face. I thought, “When she returns from the bank to hang up the bag she’ll surely see that face smiling at her and maybe it will make her smile back.” I felt as if there had to be a way to break into the vault those sad eyes held the combination for.

Apparently my attempt to make her feel just a bit happy didn’t get a chance to work. When she returned from the bank she tossed the deposit bag on the counter in the office and walked out leaving her resignation on the manager’s desk. She didn’t offer the typical two weeks notice but rather told us she had no plans of returning the following day.

I was really hoping for an opportunity to “reach” her but that opportunity never took root and never had the chance to grow. God knew I tried though, I know He did.

I had a terrible day at work yesterday. I don’t have lots of them, thank goodness but I do have them and when I do I can never just let it go. I dissect the details that caused my frustration and even attempt to convince myself of a different outcome. I dread the following day as it seems there is almost always repercussions that surface that tend to reignite the flames from the prior day. I asked God to help me through the “aftershock” period but if you’re like me you find yourself wondering if He did, indeed, hear you. I don’t always pick up on His signs to reassure me that things are going to be okay so with a bit of hesitation I walked out the door to face my impending fears.

I didn’t go to work right away as I had an obligation for work at another address first which helped to calm my ability to overthink what would happen when I did actually get to work. After about an hour and a half I finished my tasks and as I walked down the hall to leave something convinced me to look up before turning the corner and on the bulletin board right in front of me there was a face created from push pins smiling at me! It was in the lower right corner of that bulletin board which just happened to be the very same corner I had arranged push pins on the bulletin board at work only days before! I had walked past that bulletin board at the end of the hall so many times but the decision to look up today could not have happened at a better time.

We never have to wonder if God hears us when we pray but we do. We never have to bear a burden alone but feeling alone feels very real sometimes and we never have to wonder if attempting to brighten someone’s day is a good idea even if they don’t realize you tried because there will come a time in your life when you’ll know your prayers are heard, that you’re not alone and that Someone may attempt to brighten your day in a “push pin” kind of way!