by Joani Schultz
Can you hear this collective cry?
NOTICE ME!
Maybe it’s through fluorescent hair or full-body tattoos or multiple piercings. Hey, our photo of this Mursi tribe woman takes “notice me” to a new level, don’t you think? Appearances have always been an avenue for personal expression.
But now we’ve got social media—or more like social immediacy. Every tweet, post, text, and ALL-CAPS RANT bombards us like, well, bombs. It’s like trying to survive in a verbal war zone with everyone lobbing opinion grenades.
But why?
Could it be we all crave to be noticed? To matter? To be understood?
With all the technological advances that promise connection, you’d think we’d feel more noticed than ever.
But we don’t. We think no one cares. Or listens. Or worse, even notices us.
So we just shout louder. We hope the louder, shriller, and crazier we get that someone might actually pay attention—to me, my thoughts, my ideas, my dreams.
Instead of complaining about everyone else’s bomb-throwing, though, what if we toss some “love bombs”?
What If?
What if we deactivate others’ bombs before they detonate? What if we let Jesus’ heart pump within us? What if we speak his voice, look through his eyes, offer his hands…and make a difference?
Here’s my small and simple “love bomb” plan this week. What’s yours?
To notice someone:
- I will put my phone away. (I know; how can it exist without me?)
- I will resist the temptation to respond to its buzz like a Pavlovian dog.
- I will engage in conversation, make eye contact, and genuinely listen.
- I will talk directly to someone even when it might be “easier” to send an email.
“Do to others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6:31).
- I will listen to “The Golden Rule” song, lodge it in my memory bank, and look for opportunities to put Jesus’ words into action.
- I will let Jesus, the Great Noticer, be my inspiration and reread Rick Lawrence’s book The Jesus-Centered Life—especially the section on noticing.
- I will start a chain reaction of kindness and peacemaking.
Then let’s notice what happens!
Bonus “Notice Me” Idea
Our birthday present for Group staff members one year “noticed” them in a special way. We gave Groupies each a one-of-a-kind name button designed with a unique word or phrase their co-workers have chosen specially to describe that person. This silly button delighted everyone as recipients tell us why they think they got that particular “name.”
