There Are Some Things That Break My Heart…

Sunrise - Gulfport, MS in June of 2024

A while ago while my husband and I were out shopping, a man approached us in the store. He came over smiling and asked us who we were. He said that we just had "so much light." He stood there looking at us in awe. We honestly often have peculiar encounters with people, so I must say that I was very pleased this was a positive one. We asked him who he was and we had a good conversation before parting ways.
 
Just about a year after this encounter, this same man made the news for a murder / suicide. This really struck me because I’d never seen this man before our encounter and never saw him after. It made me wonder even more just why he’d approached us. Why had our paths crossed? I know for certain there is no such thing as coincidence or chance. Was there something we could have done or picked up on? Did we do enough? Was he even contemplating this act when we met him? Not likely.
 
Maybe in that moment, we were just supposed to do what we did – be the reflection of God’s light for a man who needed to see it. Every day and in every encounter, we have the opportunity to bring light to a world of darkness and goodness to a world of hatred and pain. Every encounter.
 
While my heart often breaks for the painful things that occur, I bounce back and refuse to harden my heart.
 
In the words of Jesus, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:5.

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