Is it better to be seen...or to be invisible....

Sometimes I just want to fade into the wood work and just not be seen...

I saw a young lady at church today that needed to be seen. She is such a sweet soul. She was in a terrible accident and suffered a stroke. She has made wonderful strides in her recovery and is a testimony to what God can do when one holds firm to faith. But, she does struggle.

She was fighting to get her coat around the back of her chair. It was obvious she wasn't going to win this one. There were people very near her...near enough that they could see she needed help, yet it was as though she was invisible.

I walked passed the five rows of people in front of me to assist her.

I saw her. She was not invisible to me. She was a blessing.

Is it OCD...or just some bizarre ritual?

I was at the rec center the other day. I like to get on a particular elliptical cross trainer that is just outside the weight room, actually there are 2 there, and it doesn't matter which one...either one is fine. I like the vantage point. I like to watch the comings and goings of the people there. The other cross trainers available over look the gym and many times the gym is empty when I go. I just don't like looking at empty walls. So, as I was jamming to the current music on Z104 and "running" my tush off I noticed this particular man who kept coming out into the hall to get a drink from the water fountain....

This was his routine.....

• He came out of the weight room almost speed walking
• swing wide around the corner (maybe to not run into anyone who might be coming back in?)
• head to the fountain on the left (there are 2 side by side)
• take a deliberate stance in front of the fountain, with feet about shoulder width apart...seriouse...on purpose...he would look at his feet as he did this and move them ever so slightly as if there were some mark on the floor that he HAD to hit
• he would then place his left arm behind his back
• then he would finally get that drink of water!
• oh...wait one more thing...he would swing wide once more heading back into the weight room and speed walk to where he was before

Now mind you, I am on the cross trainer for about 30 minutes when I am there. He did this every 2 to 3 minutes while I was there. Then, add this other little quirk....he wore a weight belt (one of those wide belts that support the back as you weight lift....usually worn when you are working your back area to support it...guess they forgot to tell him when he is working his biceps you really don't need that...). Okay...so you say...not so quirky, right? Well, it is when you take it off each time you go get a drink and then have to put it back on when you go back to working out!!!! Everytime!!!!???? No lie...he would take it off, speed walk, do his little stance thing, get his drink of water, speed walk back, put the belt back on, then in a couple of minutes do it all over again.

He was making me tired watching him.

Then I got to thinking, what makes any of us do "rituals"? What makes us create our habits? What makes us NOT deviate from the way we do things?

Maybe we each have a little OCD in us afterall.