Sally

Something pretty cool happened this weekend....It's an update from camp this past summer, something I blogged about at the time (Sally = gem)...here's what I initially wrote last July:

I want to highlight one special champion, Sally.

Sally was here at camp for her fourth time. If I think of a gem, I think of Sally. She's one of the most energetic, hyper, happy, exciting girls I've ever coached. Her favourite part of the day is Coach's Corner, and she is very ready to tell anyone that.

On Thursday, at lunch, Sally came running up and was really excited. She said that on Wednesday night she had got on her knees and commited her life to Jesus. I pulled out my laptop, and wrote down what she was saying, because I told her I needed to share it. I wanted to encourage her, let her know how much prayer has been given up for her specifically, and how excited the other coaches would be.

These are her words, not mine, about her experience:

When I first came to soccer camp I thought it was just about soccer, but it wasn’t, it was more about God and Jesus and everything they stand for. It just touched me, the coaches' stories went straight to my heart, some of what the coaches felt wasn’t nice, but for some reason I wanted to feel it too and feel that God was there for me. When I decided to commit my life to Jesus, I really felt something, I didn’t do it just because my friends or the coaches did it. Not because they would think more highly of me. I did it for myself and God.
It just feels so good…every night I go to bed I feel so filled. It’s like there was an empty part in me but now it just feels filled in. I love that God and Jesus are there for me, it makes me so happy. I just feel so great. I really wanna thank all the coaches I’ve ever had. But mostly I want to thank God and Jesus, because they were the ones that really led me to this point.

Sally is a champion. Every week she was the girl who asked all the good questions, and was always so interested. She told me, though, that it has never felt like this before. She said she has a feeling inside her that she just knows is real. Real, and better than ever before.

This past Saturday, I got an email from Sally. This is what it said:

Hi D it's me Sally! something happened to me the other day and i'm so excited to tell you about it. I was riding home on the bus sitting alone & thinking about school and I remembered that I had to make up a story mine was about a school being built my friend's story is about a girl diein. & that got me thinking about God and did I mention that it was a bad day. But as soon as I thought about God it started to feel like a great day .Then I knew he heard me! I felt filled & closer to him .

love
your gem Sally

Jesus tells the people around Him in Matthew 18:3,4:

"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Sally isn't just a child, she's a gem who has a unique and inspiring outlook on life. It's refreshing. In a time when a lot is going on in life, and a lot of different areas of life I've been relying on have been stripped away, it's refreshing to get an email from a camper who puts it so simply. God is holding Sally close to His heart, and she knows it!

We get so bogged down with things that happen, especially things we can't even control. When it seems like everything is crashing, for some reason our first impulse is frustration and even anger. We don't view things like children do. We don't listen like Sally listens...

It's almost like we'd rather stay frustrated and down, falling deeper and deeper into this temporary mess of anxiety and frustration.

Thanks, Sally, for the reminder...

What's YOUR story?

How many times have you had this conversation:

-"Hey!" (Big smiles all around)

-"Hey, how's it going??" (Big smiles back)

-"Good, and you?"

-"Good, thanks!"

awkward pause....

-"That's awesome, I'm so glad to hear it."

-"Yeah, you too...well...I gotta run, I guess I'll catch you later! It was so great to talk to you again!"

If there's anything that frustrates me, it's how easy people cop out of actually caring.

Over the last four or five years, most of which were at Redeemer, I've realized that I know alot of people. I'm not unique, because everyone has lots of friends everywhere. I mean, how many hundreds of friends do we have on facebook!

So here's the question:

Why do so many people feel like they are on their own, alone in a world of billions of people, and can't understand why?

It's because we have too many conversations like the one above. Conversations that do just enough to sustain a relationship until the next time we happen to pass each other on the hall, and have the same conversation. We fill our quota of wall posts and text messages, just so that the next visit on our weekly encounters isn't that much more awkward.

One thing I'm learning is the invaluable experience of learning about someone's life. Knowing and asking about details, from the health of a family member to the most random activity they did two weeks ago, means so much to both you and the person you are asking. Who cares, really, what it is, but showing interest beyond filling our quota of encounters with each other, all of a sudden (surprise!) gives meaning to a friendship.

I think the thing that solidifies a relationship the most is time. Time spent talking, praying, laughing, and just hanging out has brought the most meaningful relationships into my life. Time shared through both trials and incredible experiences creates the desire to be in each other's company the next time something is going on.

This leads me back to that conversation...

If you've had a semi-decent conversation with me, you may have noticed I try to eliminate the opportunity for someone to say "I'm good" and then turn it back to me and ask how I'm doing. I try to ask, "What's your story?"

The looks I get from people when I ask that is quite funny. Alot of people are thrown off when they can't use their programmed, "Good" response.

I expand on it this way: "If someone was writing a story about you right now, what would they be writing?" All of a sudden the other person is forced to think about something that is actually going on (you'd be surprised how many people don't know). This opens up a conversation so much easier, and gives you something that helps you feel like you know the person better already.

Creating a platform that shows you genuinely care is essential. It's essential to the establishment and development of quality friendships.

Do I sometimes feel alone? Absolutely.

Do I regret the hundreds of times I walked down the halls at school and said "Good, and you?" to someone, and erased all the potential of a great conversation? Absolutely.

Next time you meet someone, ask them, "What's your story?"

Give it a shot... You might be surprised how many people still respond "Good", simply because we've programmed ourselves to answer that way after we hear certain audible noises come from someone's mouth walking towards us.

The funny part is when they catch what they just said:

-"Hey! What's your story these days?"

-"Good!"