RUBY:
I'm currently reading Wonderstruck,
Beth Miramonti's suggestion, by Margaret Feinberg for Eat,
Read, Pray Book Club at Troy UMC. An early passage made me think of
you, Sue Busler:
Will
you be someone who breathes life into others?
Breathing
life begins with the simplest of actions. See someone. Really see.
As you reach out and interact, offer your full attention to whoever
is in front of you. Listen to someone. Really listen. Give someone
the gift of your presence- your fully present, undivided attention.
Pray for someone. Really pray. Though it may feel awkward in the
moment, as if you can offer a prayer, and bless the person with
kindness. Give to someone. Really give of yourself. Find an
unexpected way to help someone whose needs remain unmet. Radiate the
generosity of Christ. (Kindle, Loc 1345)
When
you approached me, a stranger to you, months and months ago in the
sanctuary, you did this so intentionally without any sign of
awkwardness. To me, you were cool, confident, and, most of all,
caring . . . exactly what I needed. I think of this happening often
and use it as inspiration for my own actions. Never in a million
years would I have had the courage to approach a stranger praying in
a sanctuary, but I now push myself to introduce myself by name during
the sharing of peace in worship because of you. Thank you.
Tell
us more about your ability to intentionally interact with others.
Have you always done this? Did you learn this behavior? What
advice might you give others to start the process of intentionally
interacting with others?
Sue:
“Currently,
there are commercials, facebook jests and jibes, Oprah campaigns,
billboards, and countless real-life dinner table discussions about a
nationwide epidemic that involves people whom I have dubbed as saps!
Who are saps? They are people who Stare At Phones (SAP) ‘round the
clock, wherever they are. A lot of us are saps sometimes, but some
of us take it to a new level of sapdom! This urgent need to be
constantly connected to the world via our handheld devices can be
dangerous to our health, particularly when we are driving or eating
out with our significant others. It is also indicative of a much
deeper underlying problem in our society today. We are so hooked on
our technological gadgets that, half the time, we don’t even see
the people around us. Eyeball to eyeball communication and
interaction is almost a thing of the past. Our techno gadgets,
coupled with our microwave, hurry, hurry, rush, rush life style, all
contribute to our general failure to see those around us.”
That
is an excerpt from the beginning of a sermon I once did on the topic
of noticing – intentionally noticing those around us. When we
closely read the accounts of Jesus’ life in the New Testament, we
see that He noticed everybody, particularly the “least, the last,
and the lost.” Not only did He notice
these physical, emotional, and spiritual paupers, but He offered them
words and touches of healing, forgiveness, encouragement, affirmation
and prayer.
As
followers of Christ, I believe we are called to do no less. In every
walk of our life -- whether it be at the deli counter at the grocery
store, on the other side of the cubicle wall in the office, in the
chemo room at the hospital, under a bridge in St. Louis, wherever and
whenever – we encounter people who are begging to be noticed.
Sometimes they verbally share their issues with us, but most often we
must discern their needs from their body language or their general
demeanor. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrases, “I could see it
in his eyes.” “It was written across her face.” People send us
all kinds of different messages if we will just take the time to
notice.
When
we deliberately abandon our SAPpiness and intentionally notice
others, the Holy Spirit comes alongside and gives us a nudge when we
need to engage. When we are tempted to ignore that nudge we must
cling to the knowledge that “God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
(2 Timothy 1:7) No doubt about it, when He calls us to serve as His
emissaries on earth, He equips us for the task at hand. He gives us
the words, the resources, the Christ-like compassion we need to
minister to those who are broken.
I
know this not only from Scripture but also from personal experience.
As the director of a military hospital chapel, I found myself
surrounded by people who were hurting and hopeless, each of them
seeking the presence, the power, and the peace that only God can
provide. Needless to say, when I first took the job, I felt
ill-prepared and overwhelmed. Who was I to help them? Exactly!
When I finally figured out that it wasn’t me helping them, but
rather, the Lord working through me, it all fell into place. Don’t
get me wrong. It wasn’t easy. Each encounter was different –
the people, the pain, the purpose, the process, the prayer. But as
with most things, it became easier with practice. It also became
easier to “notice” those with needs and to recognize the nudges
of the Holy Spirit as to when to engage.
Over
the years, three of those “nudgees” in my life chose to accept
Christ as their Lord and be in relationship with Him. Talk about a
return on investment!! Sometimes there are immediate results when we
obey the prompts of the Holy Spirit and, in some cases, eternal
results. We never know the fruit-bearing capacity of the seeds we
are planting. “All of us can count the seeds in an apple, but only
God can count the apples in a seed!”
My
Mother was and is a great noticer and seed planter so, yes, I guess
it is a learned behavior in some respects. As a high school physical
education teacher and coach, she poured herself into the lives of
countless guys and girls alike who lived on the margin. Now, twenty,
forty, even sixty years later (yes, some of them now use walkers),
those former students continue to show up at the door or in her
mailbox or on the phone, to share their joys and sorrows and
gratitude. As Steve Jobs would say, she has made “a dent in our
universe” and, I would add, in the Kingdom of God.
You,
too, can make a dent for God! Begin today to notice the verbal
language and body language of each and every person you meet. When
you feel that gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit to engage, obey! Trust
me, He will equip you for the encounter. Do not throw “the Jesus
card” right out of the chute! Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be
authentic. Just show that you care. When it’s a Spirit-led
engagement, you will be flooded with love and compassion you never
knew you had. That’s because, maybe for the first time, you will be
tapped into the boundless reservoir of the Holy Spirit’s living
water. Dive in . . . the water’s great!
Notice,
obey the nudge, and submit to the Holy Spirit . . . it’s as simple
and as difficult as that! Gazillions of hurting people are in your
path every day. What are you waiting for?!
