Last night Stephen and I took a walk and along the way we met a guy and his dog. The guy had a Navy hat on and so I asked him if he served, which he had. He and Stephen briefly talked about where they were stationed and then we all continued on.

We had another brief conversation with a couple as they were deflating their stand up paddle boards. We have similar ones and they shared with me a piece of advice about them which I was thankful for.

I recognized on our walk last night is that we connected with these strangers because we saw a commonality with them. We passed many more people along the walk that we didn’t talk with. This made me see that sometimes we engage in connecting with others when the common thread is visible.

Yet what if we realized that we have a common thread with everyone, it just may not be visible?

I invite you to join me today to...

pause. breathe. pray.

When we walk through our day today, may we consider that there is something we have in common with those along our path. Whether it is visible or not, may we choose to connect with them, even if through a smile (or smiling eyes behind a mask😉) or saying hello. Simple acts of love like this is what we are needing more of these days to bridge the divide and create more unity.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

- 1 Peter 3:8