Lady on a Train

Today I was on the subway and since it wasn't a long ride, thought it would be nice to stand; so I didn't take the open seat on the crowded train. As I approached the seat and just grabbed the handrail, I quickly learned why the spot was vacant. There was an elderly woman sitting on the end who was homeless and she smelled awful, as if it'd been weeks since her last shower. The train approached the next stop rather quickly and another woman eagerly gets on, eyes the empty seat and asks me if I was going to take it. I tell her no, go ahead. Almost immediately she, not so discreetly, began to make a disgusted face and started to inch away from the woman. After a few more moments pass by, she can't take it anymore and gets up and walks to the other side of the train. I couldn't help but feel horrible for this woman, just imagining how many times this has probably happened to her. Probably every day of her life she faces people who avoid her at all costs, and look at her with physical disgust. I wish I would have thought quicker on my feet to at least say hi and ask her how she was doing. Unfortunately all I did was smile at her and not move away, as I kept wondering how many people actually acknowledge her existence. While next time I hope I act instead of just think, it has been really good thoughts. I have been reflecting all day how if what was inside of me was reflected on the outside, people would want to move away from me too. If what was on our hearts was truly seen to everyone around us, we would be making faces and avoiding each other constantly. Then I just kept thinking how incredibly blessed we are to have a God who not only doesn't avoid us when we are at our most repulsive, but how He actually embraces us. Romans 5:8 came alive: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." So while I could write a lot more, I guess my two big takeaways from today were 1- how amazing God's love is for us and undeserving we all are and 2- a prayer for God to open my eyes- open all of our eyes to those around us who are hurting and who are the forgotten ones. How can God use us to love them? I really hope this doesn't sound too sermon-y but it has been on my mind all day and I'm trying to be better about blogging :)