Friday, 01 August 2008
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Currently Listening
Don't Get Comfortable
By Brandon Heath
see relatedMy new 86-year-old friend Edith ...
It was the last day of my Best Buddies conference, and I was heading back to Austin.
Two hours of waiting in the airport + two hours on the plane = a lot of thinking time
For the overly analytical thinker, four hours seem like eternity. I had a lot on my mind then, too, which did not help the situation. I was still letting all the information I had learned over the past weekend sink in ... and I had a boy on my mind. While waiting to board, I (tried to) read the latest issue of Marie Claire. It did not help whatsoever. When I finally boarded the plane, I thought to myself, "Only two more dreadful hours." I silently prayed to God to help me relax and to stop thinking SO MUCH.
He brought me Edith.
At first, I was apprehensive about sitting next to an elderly woman. A girl that had been traveling with me had a not-so-pleasant experience with another elderly woman after she accidentally ran into her - twice. Fortunately, there was an international Best Buddies member sitting in the other seat in my aisle. (I had the middle seat.) I started speaking with the member when Edith asked me where she was from. "Hong Kong," I responded. This simple question ended up being the impetus to a marvelous two-hour discussion.
I explained to Edith what Best Buddies is - a marvelous organization that promotes one-to-one friendships with people with intellectual disabilities. (Of course, the word "marvelous" is not in the mission statement.) She explained why she was on the plane - to visit her daughter in Dallas. (Her son, who lives near her in Indianapolis, was traveling and did not want to leave her by herself.) She then began to talk about her lovely family, including her granddaughter who is currently at a missionary in Thailand (if I recall the location correctly). Edith shared stories about her past, her love life, her career, et cetera. I talked about my family (of course!) and even the occupational predicament in my life.
The best part of the conversation, though, was the inclusion of God. A woman of faith, Edith understood completely when I talked about what I feel like I am truly called to do - to work with children and women as a social worker. I explained how God had led me to my research fellowship at The University of Texas at Austin, only to show me that it was not His plan for me, and she understood completely!
I have never had such an intimate and detailed conversation with an individual I had just met - much less, an individual I had just met on a plane! Yet, this conversation helped me in many ways:
First, it helped me relax. I did not think too hard during those two hours. In fact, I longed for more time with her.
Second, speaking with another grandmother reminded me of my own grandmothers, whom I love dearly. I realized the need to spend more time with them because they may be gone in the blink of an eye.
Third, I realized the need to be more patient. Here was a woman who had lived for eighty-six years. She had eighty-six years of wonderful memories, of heartbreaking memories, of foreseen and unforeseen challenges, of regrets and failures, of joy and happiness. She did not get married until thirty but spent fifty-plus years with the man of her life. (Furthermore, she was not expecting it.) Here I was as a twenty-one-year-old, fretting about my future - whether I would marry, have children, be a happy as a social worker, et cetera. After all, life is capricious. I just need to live each day to the fullest.
Fourth, the conversation reminded me to trust God, which can be difficult, at times.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confidence" (Jeremiah 17:7).
Before we parted ways, I asked for Edith's address. I love making and sending cards to people. Nothing would bring me more joy than to send her a card.
Have you ever engaged in a fulfilling conversation with an individual you had just met? If so, did the conversation have a impact (regardless of size) on you?
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Comments (4)
not as of late if you read a few of my earlier posts... lol...
wish I had a convo like this...
you're super cool mslisa... kudos... props...
prayin for ya....
grace and peace
When I went to Europe many years ago while I was in college, it changed my worldview. I had grown up in the era of The Late Great Planet Earth, and Christ was going to return within a handful of years. Armaggedon was just around the corner.
I spent eight weeks in 1983 visiting cities that had been where they were for hundreds or even thousands of years. I saw sites from battles in the Middle Ages and visited a Burger King that was in a building from the 1300s. It started me thinking: Wait a minute!
Our oldest buildings in the US, except for Indian structures that we consider prehistoric, were built less than 500 years ago. Most of what we consider monumental is less than 300 years old. Our worldview is shaped by being raised in a thriving young country, and so is our eschatology. We expect(ed) the world to careen into the Tribulation and Armaggedon in a decade or so, civilization crumbling around us.
But looking at the sheer age of things in Europe, such things as battlefields from the 30 Years War (30 years!), which was fought many centuries ago, and even the graveyards from WWI and WWII, I began to think that maybe things weren't likely to change that quickly.
It's now 25 years since I visited Europe, and guess what? Hal Lindsey has had to revise his interpretation of the End Times a few times. All his estimated dates have passed. We still don't have a one-world government, the EU is obviously not the 13 horns of the beast, there's no push to bar-code us on the hand or forehead yet, the Antichrist hasn't yet appeared. Yes, things have deteriorated, and we are that much nearer to the end, but what They predicted hasn't happened within the timeframe they said. It may not ever look anything like what They said.
Talking to older people gives us the same kind of refreshment to our worldview. "All is well, and all is well, and all manner of things are well."
that's so cool. i love finding people who you can connect to so quickly. :)
oh this is lovely ...
I haven't recently had such a conversation however, I did have a convo with a man who was homeless and in a soup kitchen once and that convo made me appreciate him and God more.