Affirm This

Affirm This. A couple months ago I served as a cocktail server for an event that cost…well let’s just say…more than my wedding will probably cost. Hundreds of family members and friends gathered together to lavishly celebrate a birthday. There was a DJ, dance floor, open bar, buffet of appetizers, buffet of main entrées, coffee bar, desert bar…you name it…they had it. It was a party I wished I was attending as opposed to serving, for sure! As I went table to table checking on guests, and pushed my way through the crowd to serve trays of food and drinks I nodded my head to the music and wished I could join everyone on the dance floor. It was a fun party, but it was a long night as the one serving. Their birthday celebration did not end until 1:30, which meant the staff and myself did not leave until 2:45am. As I bussed all of the tables and began carrying platters back to the kitchen, I stacked the dishes by the dish washing station…and then I noticed him…Emmanuel*, the man who washes all of our dishes. I've noticed him before. I've introduced myself, said hello...but much of our interaction has been quick as I've hurried back to my guests. As I stacked the dishes in my hands for him to wash, I carried on my usual interaction: smiled and said thank you. In broken English he hurriedly said, “You’re welcome.” I couldn’t help but pause for a moment and lock eyes with him. This sixty something year old man, wrinkles beginning to form around his eyes, sweat gathering on his forehead…I thought to myself…I wonder what his story is. I wonder if he has a wife waiting at home. Children? Grand children? What did he do before this job? Has he worked here long? And then the big question that truly pierced my heart…when was the last time someone affirmed him in his hard work? The dishes stacked higher and higher and higher…was his heart racing? Was he wondering when he’d actually get home tonight? Does this happen most nights? I turned around and returned to gather more dishes. By the time I came back the dishes had stacked even higher and as I set my dishes down and began organizing them to make it a little easier on him…my heart had to move a bit…I went around to Emmanuel…placed my hand on his shoulder. He jumped. Startled. I said, “Thank you so much for your hard work.” And I smiled, locking eyes with him. He looked at me stunned. And after a moment. Said, “Thank you, mi preciosa.” Now, my thanks did not make Emmanuel’s work load any lighter…my thanks did not do much of anything…some might argue it just made me feel better. BUT, I would argue…that what it did do was validate Emmanuel and affirm him as a man working by my side. What it did was make him a real person to me. And it made me a real person to him. It put us on an even plane. There is a huge amount of separation in our culture. I saw it on perhaps a more exaggerated level when I traveled abroad, but I’m seeing it every day now right here where we live. How do we bridge the gap? Affirmation and validation. A simple touch. A simple word of thanks. A simple word of recognition. Has the potential to bridge the gap between server and dishwasher…Manager and Employee…Child and Adult…Educated and Less educated…Homeless Man and Businessman. I’m learning that part of opening our eyes to the need in the world and part of just playing the part of a person here on this planet is to truly look around and see…who am I ignoring…who can I affirm…who can I validate? It starts here…Affirmation…it paves the way and invites true change to begin to emerge. Striving to Affirm those I connect With, Regina *Name in this story Change for Privacy.

Agape

Agape: love. a commitment to do good to someone else. To regard someone in such a way that you commit to their good.  When there were 99 sheep and one was missing Jesus went to find the one. He pulled in the sheep and said you are mine. Thats the love of God.... taking initiative. Love. Reaching out and loving others even in your time of hurt. Thats what God did..... he took initiative.  I read 1 John 4:7-21 this weekend and almost fell off my chair. It hits you hard..... read it slowly. You see, Love is a God-thing, and it shows up in people who are born of God and know him. God's love in Christ, took initiative to meet our greatest need...... he DIED for OUR sins. His love that is expressed among his people displays the fullness of his presence.  Verse 12 says..... No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.  I don't know about you but its hard for me to believe in a God that I can not physically see. I don't know with 1000000% of my being that he exists..... but you know what? I see God is others, I see God in the youth that I work with each week...... I see God in the miracles that he creates, the sun that he brings us each morning, the skyline that I drive past each day, and the ways he works in my life. I see Gods love in an entire new perspective when I realize how huge his love is for us. I look at the word love in an entire new perspective when I understand how precious this word is.  LOVE- a commitment to do good to someone else. To regard someone in such a way that you commit to their good. Doesn't God do that to us each and every day? We don't deserve that. We fail him daily.  Lets look at the word love in a different way...... "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another." 1 John 3:16  We fail God daily. The LEAST we could do is to show our love for him by radiating it to others, and laying down our life for him. If we as his people don't get this message right we are sending the wrong message to the world and failing to show who God is. WE are a family of love. Lets continue to love one another so that we can sense that God is among us.  How often do we say "oh i LOVE starbucks..... or i LOVE that movie." What does that kind of love mean? I can bet it doesn't mean the same kind of Love that God has for us. Why do we use the word Love so lightly? Love is love..... it shouldnt have so many meanings. Is that failing God? Shouldn't love be forgiving those who have hurt you, or holding onto God when you feel like you have nothing left to hang onto? Guard this word of love. Treat it with the utmost respect. Lets guard this word of love shall we? When we say "I love you" or "I love that ....." Think of Gods love.... and if it compares....... than say it like you mean it. I think it's safe to say…. that I truly LOVE all of the supporters that God has brought Firefleyes….. remember that you are truly cherished and truly loved. Stay tuned.