hear what's not being said

I get to meet new people... a lot. I was good at remembering names at one point in my life, but not anymore. Nope. It's not because each person I meet is not extremely awesome, it's just too much for my brain. Meeting new people is usually really fun. There's always the possibility that something disasterous could happen, but usually I find it pretty entertaining. Whatever the case, I can always learn something if I just take the time to listen and respond appropriately. (Emphasis on the word appropiately- hehe!) And learning about the other person is really important for a good relationship. Well, recently I was having a first-time convo with someone I had just met. And within 5 minutes of listening, I knew what I can imagine was every accomplishment of their life and everything they were really awesome at. I don't know if you've ever found yourself in that kind of situation before, but usually for me, it's not pretty. Normally, I probably would've taken that as a challenge and found a way to interject why I was equally awesome, or I would've avoided the whole situation and pretended like I had to potty. Sometimes I just throw it out there, and sometimes I completely avoid the whole thing. You never really know which one it's going to be. But this time something different happened. I was totally shocked and think that the angel of the Lord must have slapped some duct tape on my mouth so I couldn't speak, and glued my feet to the floor so I couldn't make a quick escape to the bathroom with my fake potty emergency. I just listened. And listened. And nodded. And listened. And as I listened Jesus showed me something really cool. He showed me that when people really believe they are awesome, they are less likely to seek affirmation from others by being loud about how great they are. This person didn't know they were awesome. What looked like bragging was really a cry for help. Tears late at night when no one is around is interpreted totally different in public. I found myself in the position to be the one that would let her know how incredible and irreplaceable she is. So, that's what I did. Oh wow. How awesome. You are amazing. And it wasn't fake either. It was a real Jesus moment. Now, as I stated earlier, this was not the normal response for that kind of conversation, so please understand my heart. I'm saying all this as encouragement to see past what is being said, to what need is being covered up, what cry is coming from a deep place that hurts, and responding... appropriately. ;)