A Missed Opportunity
Thailand has been such a blessing. I’ve been able to go on multiple adventures and it seems like time has been slipping away. This month we partnered with Nikki’s Place Agape Home (http://www.nikkisplace.org/, they are such amazing people) and worked at a home for young children living with HIV/AIDs.
The Lord has taught me so much, and one of my prayers has been for the Lord to bless me with His eyes so I can see His people the way we were created. We were all beautifully and wonderfully made. No matter what size, shape, color, sickness, and predisposition you may have. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I was having an awesome month and then BAM! My heart grew heavy. I was reminiscing about an odd encounter I had on my “day off”: A Missed Opportunity
Me and a couple of friends were sitting around in a shop, when a Caucasian gentlemen walked in. He asked politely if he could sit next to my friends and they agreed. He began with some small talk about how he was born in the United States and eventually moved to France. Then he turned the switch on. He began rambling on about his life story “I was shot two times, stabbed in the chest, and suffered a Muay Thai kick to the shin!I worked as a bouncer, and I love that Obama guy in the States with a couple of expletives , etc. etc.”
I think we may have all encountered people like this. You may feel that they are sharing too much information too soon, or that they are under the influence. You may grow uneasy sitting next to this guy who is “talking your ear off” or try to close the conversation by walking away or picking up a phone. BUT how many of us would take the time to listen?
As he continued on with his story I began to HEAR all the pain he had endured during his lifetime. He was away from his young daughter, and served as a fireman in the States. He lost many close friends during 9/11 and it had devastated him. He began to tear up a little bit, but pushed through to unveil the bits and pieces of his life. He made a couple comments about black people in America which originally caught me off guard to be honest. BUT I believe he was referring to all the news of police brutality that has been mainstreamed in media. He followed up by saying I love all people, I love helping all people, I love serving people, and everyone deserves to be treated equally because we are all humans. He said that his heart was to serve people. A couple sentences later and he began to walk out of the shop.
After walking out, he decided to come back in the shop. He walked up to me and said “I love you man. I’m not gay but I love you.” (It’s ok to pause for a little laugh here,I was laughing on the inside too, but I could read between the lines of what he was saying). Shortly after he left out.. then came back peeked his head in the door and said “Man I love you guys, it was so cool just to practice my English and talk to real people”.. and then he made his final exit.
In my head, and maybe yours, you are thinking wow. What an odd guy. He was really random and jumped around a lot….. Or maybe you are thinking what I thought after more processing….. Wow, what a guy. He genuinely loves people, served as a fireman and odd jobs, and is just wandering around in Thailand full of brokeness from his past.
Then my heart got heavy. Because I’m thinking wow! What a guy. Although his mannerisms may have “seemed” a little unusual, he was a cool guy. He made himself vulnerable and was literally knocking on the door for someone to speak something different onto his life.What a missed opportunity…
God made the perfect set up for me to share. What are the odds that he brings in this passionate fireman from the States to me in a random shop in Thailand. If it wasn’t for firemen, my family may not be here from our housefire we experienced nearly two years ago now… How crazy!
But instead of beating myself up about a missed opportunity, I want to pray. I pray that we all have eyes, ears, and an open heart to see the opportunities that God creates for us each and every day. That we would see the moments where we can be used mightily to transform the lives of others by sharing God’s love. That we would go about each day looking to love all people. That we would have courage and boldly speak life over all people that surround us. Our words have power, so let’s use them to uplift one another! No more missed opportunities…. We have the Key so let’s run with it!
Just a fun Video with the Bros 🙂
