Be Present
I’ve written about this before, but I think it’s important that when God brings us into situations that we share when we feel led to.
In a world that is so dark and so chaotic, it’s important to share the positive interactions we have in society because it’s easy to get hung up on the bad ones. Like I wrote about last week, I’ve been working on saying “yes”. Leaning into my intuition and listening to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, even when financially or energetically it feels like more sense to say “no” has been such a blessing lately. The other day my brother in law called to let us know that my sister in law was going in for her induction and they needed us to stay the night at their house with the dog until her mom was able to get there. I immediately said yes because in this family at least, we drop everything for each other. It’s something I admire about the family I married into. It was inconvenient to pack up our life in 20 minutes and get there, but ya do what ya gotta do, right? The next morning I got a text from my other sister in law asking if we’d go have lunch with her and our Nanny. (Yes, she’s my Nanny now too.) I instinctively said “yes” but then started to think about why I should’ve said “no” because it was in the middle of Hayden’s nap time, Dustin had an errand to run, we didn’t need to spend the money and I could eat healthier at home. But I felt like God told me to just leave the “yes” and trust that there was a reason I was supposed to go to eat with them. There was.
When we arrived I had Dustin sit in the truck because Hayden was napping and I would go in to get us a table since we were waiting on his sister and Nanny. I walked up to the building and I saw a sweet older man and then a younger man in a wheelchair. It was kind of backwards so they caught my eye and I smiled. Before I even made it out of the road the younger man introduced himself and I returned the greeting. What happened next caught me by surprise. The younger man, with curly hair, a big beautiful smile and the coolest speckled round glasses asked if he could tell me a joke. I was caught off guard and my gut instinct, only because Dustin and I have talked about situational awareness enough was to walk away because when you’re approached like that it’s not always with the best intentions. I knew Dustin was watching me because I could see him out of the corner of my eye, I quickly looked around and felt the Holy Spirit say, “you’re safe” and as that all happened within a quick moment I said “of course!”. He proceeded to tell me a joke about Jesus and John the Baptist. It made me smile and I laughed and told him to have a blessed day and went for my table. He came up behind me and shouted my name to hold the door. I had already planned to but it was another interaction I could have with him. The older man pushed his wheelchair and smiled at me. We both went ahead and put our names in and hearing that we had a 15 minute wait I knew I had a choice. I could either talk with him for awhile or sit on my phone. I know this seems like a dumb choice, but in our society, it’s a very real one. There wasn’t anyone around me that wasn’t staring down at their phone waiting. But something about him made me want to talk to him. He had an infectious joy and I could hear God whispering to me that this man was going to bless me if I’d only look up and let him. He asked me if he could tell me another joke because he was a “sit down, stand up comedian” and I laughed and said I’d love that. We were able to talk for almost fifteen minutes and it was such a blessing.
He asked if he could tell me his story and I leaned in with anticipation. He had been in an accident in France “5 years, 3 months and 18 days ago, but who’s counting? I am.” He laughed and I’m telling you laugh and his smile and his pure joy, it was radiating and I felt Jesus sitting with us there. He went on to tell me that he and his girlfriend had rented a scooter and was hit by a drunk driver on the last day of their vacation. She only had a broken nose (I believe that’s right) but he endured most of the trauma with a broken nose, several fractures in his pelvis and his spine as well as a severe traumatic brain injury. The doctors told him that he wouldn’t be able to ever walk with a walker or feed himself. And then with the biggest smile he proudly told me that now he can walk with a walker and then pointing to his caregiver he says “but I let him feed me.” I don’t think I had smiled or laughed that much in awhile.
He told me about his girlfriend who went on to become a lawyer and how proud of her that he is. He told me several more jokes and showed me his tattoos. He had a charlie horse on his thigh and butterflies on his stomach in the shape of the cutouts from the game Operation. He was excited to tell me that he’ll be getting the funny bone done as soon as he can. He asked me about myself and my favorite bands. He started singing along to the lyrics of the music playing and his caregiver explained to me that he doesn’t have a good memory because of his injury but that he can remember all the lyrics and jokes. His favorite band was the Red Hot Chili Peppers and another which he suggested I listen to, but I can’t quite remember. I assume that I’ll come across them one day. Then he told me something I will never forget. And the fact that God allowed me to meet him this day, after he hit this milestone will forever bless my heart.
He told me that just before lunch he had been at physical therapy and for the first time in 5 years, since his accident, he was able to get up off the ground with his walker by himself. I could’ve cried. The hostess called out his name and just then he told me one more joke and as she kept calling out, seeing that we were talking, he put his hand out and shouted kindly that they’d be right there but he was telling a joke. He finished his joke, I shook both of their hands and he told me to have a great day. As I watched him roll away I saw on the back of his wheelchair he had a colorful bag that either said “spread positivity” or “spread joy”. I don’t quite remember as I was trying to take in everything that had just happened, but it summed up exactly that man’s mission. He was incredibly successful before his accident, he was doing cancer research at the National Institute of Health, about to head off to medical school, but now his job is to make people smile and to bring them joy. I told him how much he made my day, but I wish I could have told him the impact he really had on me. It was so sweet to eat and watch him across the room as he made the waitress’ day and made everyone around him smile.
As it is 2021 and everything is able to be found on the internet, I did find a Go Fund Me from a few years ago that his aunt organized and I am going to share it here, because I know those costs don’t just go away in 5 years as he had to be airlifted home, has full time caretakers and went through rehab. He obviously did not tell me about the Go Fund Me or ask me for anything more than a little bit of my time to interact with me. I am sharing it because we all need a little help and if you feel led to give to him, here is your opportunity.
Ya’ll, be present.
I am no one to talk, most days I probably would have missed that whole interaction because I was stressed or I would’ve chosen to sit in the car with Hayden or I would have been on my phone and never made eye contact.
Be like him and start conversation. Be someone who brings other people joy. Be someone who radiates the love of Jesus wherever you go. Listen to people’s stories. Get off your phone and interact with the humans around you that God has placed in front of you. Remember people’s names and say them. It made my day that he referred to me by my name every time he asked if he could tell me something else. I felt so very seen by him. He loved on me with his jokes and it was a much needed reminder that people just need to be seen and heard and that you can love them so very much just by looking up and being present with them.
He’s not on social media so he probably won’t ever see this and that’s okay, it’s not for recognition. I was the one that was blessed by him and I wanted to share his story in hope that he would be a blessing to you as well. Wherever you’re at Nick, keep smiling and telling people jokes, you are so loved and God is using you.
xoxo - Ry