When Ken Blanchard asked Hall of Fame football coach Don Shula what he wanted on his epitaph, Shula replied that he wanted to be remembered as never having been guilty of “not noticing.”

As my children grow in number as well as size I’m afraid that I may be guilty all too often of “not noticing.”  Do I notice the stick figure drawings that they pour their hearts into and post on the refrigerator?  Do I notice enough of the details to genuinely praise them for their efforts?  Do I notice which are their favorite toys?  Do I notice when they add new words to their vocabulary?  How much do I really notice?

I have often said that the most important thing we can learn about interpersonal relationships from Jesus of Nazareth is that he always treated the person in front of him as if that person was the most important person in the world.  No one could ever accuse him “not noticing”.  Zachaeus in his tree, the man born blind, the little children that surrounded him — Jesus noticed them, and treated them as if they were the most important people in the world.

If I plan on making this a model for my own life, maybe the best place for me to practice is in my own home.