We don’t have to be famous to make an impact. By paying attention to the people God places in our path, we can make a difference to those around us, one tortured soul at a time.

I received a message from our call center through my work and I could tell by the tone of the message that the caller was frantic. I’ve learned when people are angry, or upset, it usually has nothing to do with our company, or me…they are just at their wit’s end with life and need to vent. I waited several minutes to return his call to ensure that I was calm and ready to listen. He answered on the first ring and exploded in my ear.

I listened and the longer he spoke the calmer he became. He was in the process of repairing someone’s plumbing and I could hear the clank of the tools landing on top of each other in the toolbox. While he was talking, I went into our merchant account and refunded his purchase from a month ago. He hadn’t recalled making the purchase, so when he saw the charge on his monthly statement he was ready for a fight, but he didn’t receive one from me.

I heard snippets of his story and life was not being kind to him right now. I told him, “I hope things get better for you”, but he responded with, “I don’t expect them to.” That’s when I had to bite my tongue and gently end the call because if he wasn’t expecting his life to get better, and making smart choices, then it probably wouldn’t.

I don’t go to public spaces but a couple of times a week and sometimes I drive into town only once, but I like to be of encouragement when I go. The grocery store is a great place to love on people and let the employees know they’re appreciated for showing up that day. There’s this one guy I see each week restocking water bottles on the shelves and our conversation becomes easier with each encounter.

One day there was a young man restocking the produce, but I could tell he was having a rough morning. The coolers were missing my usual selections, but he had boxes piled up on a trolly waiting to be opened. He asked if I was looking for anything in particular, so I shared my list with him and he disappeared to the back. He returned with a fresh box of kale to restock the cooler and I praised him over the extra effort.

He helped me with everything I was looking for that day and I made sure he felt appreciated and seen. The following week, I returned to the same store and stood in the produce aisle with my list. He walked by me and said, “Hello”, and I turned to see that same young man, but he looked more at ease, much like Seth in our previous post.

I exclaimed, “The produce guy!”, because we didn’t know each others name and he said, “Oh…I remember you…You’re the positive one.”