People Praying

People Watching is a past time many of us engage in at the mall and while we are waiting in other public places, and since I spend a lot of time at the mall, (love you Heather) it something I do a lot.

The problem is, I have to confess, that people watching often turns into people judging. The loud group of teenagers, the homeless-looking middle aged man, the mother with a child throwing a temper tantrum, are all potential objects of my judgmentalism. Never mind that I was once a loud teen, that I was once homeless, that I have had my own children throw temper tantrums in public and I probably threw some of my own in my day. Yes, judgementalism is a persistent sin.

So, today I suddenly had an idea, "What if I prayed for the people as I watched them?" So I did. I began to pray silently for each person or group I saw.

• For the immigrant family 
• For the family with the special needs child. 
• For the man with the "Vietnam Veteran" hat. (It was Veterans' Day.) 
• For the mother with two small boys, one of whom is in a full blown meltdown. 

Often all I could really do is pray, "God bless them," as they passed by. As I engaged in this new hobby of "people praying," praying for people rather than just "watching" or worse still "judging" them, I found my heart more open and full of joy. Don't tell Heather, but I can't wait to go to the mall again.