We were the only two people crossing paths in the hall.
‘Hey!’ she said with a smile. ‘How are you?’
I paused mid-step with intention of replying. But she didn’t stop. She kept on walking, without so much as a glance in my direction.
Huh?? I was confused. She had asked me a question. If she didn’t want to carry on a conversation, that was alright with me. This was the workplace, after all. But why didn’t she just hold her tongue and smile? Or even just left it at a simple hello? Why take the time to add in the ‘how are you’ part?
Realization hit me hard in the back hallway.
She did not care.
From that moment, I vowed to be honest with people. If I was not interested in their response, or if I didn’t have the time to stop and listen to what the other person had to say, I refused to ask ‘how are you?’ I didn’t want to mislead anyone, friend or foe.
Thankfully, God cares! My Creator regards me as a precious treasure. He saw me before I was even born and has precious thoughts about me (Psalm 139:16, 17). Not only does He care a great deal for me, He also cares about me (1 Peter 5:7). The stuff that matters to me? He wants to be entrusted with it so that He can take care of all those things because they’re a part of my life. No detail of our lives is too petty for God to handle.
God loves to ask us how we’re doing. He is eager to hear all the specifics of whatever is on our hearts–the good, the bad, the ugly. He is patient and graceful and always, always has time for us.
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I’m linking up with Kate as she leads the five-minute Friday community.