A man smiles watching the woman he loves pick out the perfect shoes. He wonders at the power of emotion rippling through him at just the thought of her. She looks at him, and he is lit with an unsubstantiated joy. God is there.

A mother cradles her teenage daughter against her, murmuring that everything will be okay. She smiles over her child's head because she knows this is one of the last lessons she must teach her beloved daughter. But the smile is bittersweet. She reflects on days before this - when tears were not the only thing that sent her daughter rushing into her embrace. The daughter sighs because she remembers such days, too. God is there.

A homeless man stands in ragged and filthy clothing holding a sign. He doesn't talk, but simply stares imploringly as car after car passes him by. He's hungry and tired and ready to cross the black brink into death. He can't remember what kindess looks like. A car pulls over and the driver gets out. Its a woman in a business suit, carrying a briefcase. The homeless man expects she's on her way to a meeting in the building behind him. But she stops and smiles at him. She asks him inside for a chat, says she has a proposition for him. God is there.

A boy with baggy, out of fashion clothes waits in line for lunch at school. He keeps his eyes downcast, hoping no one will notice him. He knows what happens when he gets noticed. More than one bruise serves as reminder. He passes through line, taking whatever is put on his tray, then walks quietly and quickly to an empty table. He breathes a sigh of relief as he sits down, thinking that danger has been averted for one day. Until a girl with pretty blonde hair and big blue eyes sits next to him. He ignores her, thinking its a prank. But she starts chattering; asking questions no one bothered to ask before. How are you today? What's the best movie you've seen? Simple things that make him feel normal. God is there.

If you're cold inside; if your heart can't breathe for the logic in your mind; if no one knows, and thus no one can care, know that someone is trying. Someone is reaching. Someone is begging. Someone is pleading with you to change. To grow. To love. If you reach out but a fingertip, love will envelop you. You've only to try, and God is there.

-End

©2007 Lili Leader