Okay, so I didn’t really. But I did notice him because he was alone. And impossibly cute. And it’s not often you see young men in church sitting by themselves. I didn’t know if he was new or not and I wanted him to feel welcome if he was. And I wanted him to know how proud I was to see him in church. I can imagine that it’s very tough to be a young man in today’s culture, especially a man of faith. You have to really have some character to be the one that stands out from the crowd, who makes an effort to attend church instead of sleeping in or picking an alternative activity any number of which can be very attractive and a whole lot easier.

I noticed he had a tattoo. I bumped Elaine’s shoulder and whispered, “Ask him what his tattoo means.” She strained to look and asked where it was. I told her. I continued to give sidelong glances at all the funny parts of the sermon. He laughed at all the right places. And he has a sense of humor to boot! He could have been anywhere between 18 or 30 for all I knew. When you reach 50 everyone looks 20.

When the service was over I leaned over to him and said, “It’s good to see you here, I love to see young guys in church.” He smiled and said his name was Aaron, and I introduced myself and Elaine too. I asked him if he lived around Mesa. He pointed in the general direction of the doors and said, “I have a wife and kids at home, but they didn’t come today.” Sigh. I fell in love all over again, he is leading his family towards the Lord. How wonderful is that.

I am so glad I obeyed the Lord’s nudge to talk with him. I wanted him to know that people appreciate that he is there, that even strangers notice. I think it’s so important to do that. And maybe, just maybe he is struggling right now and needed some encouragement.

As we walked out, Elaine said, “You talked to him because he was cute.”

“I did not,” I said. “What do you think I am, some kind of cougar?” We laughed.

I added his name to my prayer list along with his wife. I know to be young, and a Christian is not always easy.

But I think this young man knows that it’s worth it.