[An old recording of this song may be heard here. A free PDF lead sheet is available here.]
When I meet someone for the first time
And I shake that person’s hand,
I touch his life in a physical way
That says, “I know you’re there.”
But my prayer is to learn to listen
To just what he thinks and how he feels–
So I may learn to touch his life
In a way that says, “I care.”
About this Song:
Shaking hands is the most common way for men in our society–often women, too–to greet one another. Especially the first time they meet.
A handshake is a formal greeting, though. Nothing at all like a brotherly hug or a peck on the cheek of a special woman. Those are greetings we reserve for people we know well and care about.
Nonetheless, a handshake allows one person to acknowledge the existence of another one–and the second person to return the acknowledgement. But it’s purely a physical greeting.
No emotional involvement is at risk. A handshake doesn’t mean that one person cares about the other. Learning to care–especially to care deeply–is apt to take many contacts beyond the initial one.
If we listen to what people tell us–especially on an ongoing basis–they will discover that we care. Then they’ll be more willing to open up to us and permit us to minister to them in ways we couldn’t do otherwise. It’s one method of giving a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name.
Jesus told us that what we do for others we are doing for Him.
But the hard part is being quiet and listening. All too often, we want to be the ones sharing our problems with others. How much more effective we are as Christians when we close our mouths and open our ears–and our hearts.
I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.
I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.
Best regards,
Roger
Links you might be interested in:
As I Come Singing. . . 