He is Someone's Dad

I've ended my "chronicles" of old World Race blog posts and I am finally back to current day Jessica. Here's what I've got: 

Today I sat at a booth and I stared over my chocolate chip waffle at my father. It was Father’s Day, and our relationship has been strained over the past couple of years, and I am attempting to reassemble it since I’ve come back from the race. This isn’t a fun blog to write to write because it is deeply personal to me, but someone I respect once told me to write from the heart, so I am tapping on my emotions to share what I believe is a very important message.

I sat on an uncomfortable plastic bench at the local Waffle House and anxiously scooted my eggs around my plate as I listened to my dad tell me about his new job. He was telling me tid bits of information about all of the people he worked with, their styles, college backgrounds, physical looks, and all around persona. I sipped my hot chocolate and imagined the robust African woman he told me about sitting in the office next to him prattling on over the phone about the benefits of an SUV over a station wagon and so forth and so on. She would be holding a pencil in her right hand and tapping it impatiently on her desk she proudly bought at Staples. At least that’s how I imagined her from what he described.

He continued to describe all of the other personalities in his office, and how they meshed or collided, but one in particular caught my attention. He told me about a Pastor that had worked at this specific dealership for several years. He said he lead a tiny little church in the area, and had taken up this job to make some extra cash when the economy started to slip. All he said about his personality was that he seemed to be a nice guy.

Hearing him say that stopped my heart. I put my coffee cup down and thought for a minute. We as Christians are supposed to be different. We are supposed to radiate the love of Christ. The love of Christ. I don’t know if you’ve read much about him, but from what I know just a mere glimpse into his deep brown eyes would flood your heart with warmth and belonging.  Do we carry that same depth of love when someone looks into our eyes or sees a glimpse of our spirit? Let me rephrase that; do I not only carry but also show that depth of love in every aspect of life? In my family, job, weekly trips to Starbucks, or vacation times? Sometimes I wonder if people think that I am just a ‘nice girl’ and anything beyond that is far reaching.

That conversation reminded me of another time in life when a stranger became more than just a face in the crowd. When I was in Malaysia on the World Race, the team leaders had gone out for dinner. After dinner, we headed to grab some coffee, to be promptly kicked out at 11 pm, forcing us to retire to a paved park area outside of a shopping mall. We were sitting in a circle, some leaning back on their hands, some sitting Indian style, but all encouraging each other. We were sharing how we’ve noticed growth in each other, what we have overcome and so forth and so on. It was a pretty special moment, but it was quickly ruined when a shirtless, small-framed older man drunkenly stumbled over to us. He kept trying to show us something on a newspaper he had crumbled up in his hand, and between slurred speech all we could make out was that he was lost.

As we exchanged looks of “what to do now?”s and “how are we going to get rid of this guy?” one of the other team leaders stood up. She marched right over to him, took his right hand, and said, “Do you need a hug?” Now, I know this story is starting to sound a little hippie, but please stick with it. The man’s delicate face turned up from the newspaper and tears welled in his eyes. ‘Yes,’ was all he could manage to whisper out, and my friend encircled his frail body in hers and gave him a much needed hug. With her chin resting on his small shoulder, she looked at me and said, “He’s someone’s dad.”

That simple statement is ringing loudly in my ears as I hear my dad talk about the people he marches through life with everyday. Is someone reaching out to him when he is in need? Is someone showing him the same love and belonging we are called to show? I don’t know; is the answer to that question. But it did make me think of all the people I see on a daily basis and reevaluate how I treat them. He is someone’s dad who needs a touch. She is someone’s mom who needs a word of encouragement. They are someone’s in-laws who are in desperate need of someone to pay their grocery bill. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. And we could be the person to make their day, week, month, or even lifetime. I am someone in need of people to stand beside me in the fight for Kingdom on this earth. Everyone is worth something to someone, and if that other someone is not present to be the hands and feet of Christ it’s up to us. And that’s an exciting position to be in. And while it is warming your next stranger’s heart, it will be re-filling yours up for the next “someone.”