Unnoticed people. They are everywhere. The teenage girl struggling with her weight, her skin covered in acne; or the teenage boy, skinny, ADHD, non-athletic. Maybe it is the elderly woman sitting by the window in her wheelchair, watching the world pass by. That co-worker behind the cubbie wall – what was his name? He was the one who spilled the coffee on the boss’ white Berber rug at the last Christmas party. You know them – maybe you are one of them. At some point in all our lives, maybe we’ve all been unnoticed, overlooked, shunned, and treated as invisible.

I was walking the street of downtown Atlanta recently and noticed a blond-haired boy sitting next to an older black-haired, dark-skinned man. The two leaned against the marble type wall, talking. It seemed odd until I realized it was a group of home schooled kids with their moms passing out blankets, warm coffee, and breakfast for the homeless on this particular street.

Unnoticed people are everywhere; and yet, we don’t see them…but we know who they are.

This Christmas make it different. We really don’t know what a difference noticing people might make in their lives and our own.