A few years ago, I had the amazing privilege to meet John. He was sitting in front of me on a flight and made sure to welcome me the minute I took my seat. It didnt take long for John to make everyone around us aware of how excited he was to be on the plane. His voice was loud, his exclamations seemed a bit childlike for a man his age, and his stuttered words made it difficult to completely understand him. But one thing was unmistakable, his passionate embrace of the magnificent. As we rose into the sky he clapped and bounced in his seat. His eyes were wide as he turned to the man sitting next to him and exclaimed, The clouds are huge! Thats when the nudging on my heart started. This gentle prodding to ignore the task-oriented part of me wanting to get work done. A rush-like whisper tripped over those boundaries Id erected to keep my thoughts focused and orderly.Embrace this moment, notice him. Notice Me. The decision to pay attention to John was a Best Yes for me. Because there are signs of God everywhere, if we choose to see them. Looking back on that day, 1 Chronicles 29:11 comes to mind, Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Everyone else on the plane that day looked grumpy and annoyed and put off by their travels. But John saw what no one else did. We were in a fast moving tube, taking off from the ground, flying through the clouds, being transported from one place to another many miles away in a matter of minutes. Minutes! And there we all sat, grumpy. Not even bothering to look at the clouds and notice. Wed lost our passionate embrace of the magnificent. I wanted to rush through this part of my trip so I could get on with what? Rushing to get my luggage? Rushing to get a cab? Rushing to get to a meeting? No wonder Im so bored. When we landed, John could hardly contain his excitement. He clapped and jumped into the aisle of the plane. When he spotted his mom waiting for him, he got even louder pumping his arms into the air telling everyone that was his mom. My mom! My mom! Right there — there she is — thats my mom! John cheered. His mom looked embarassed but kept the sweetest, gentlest look as she threw her arms around her man-boy. She sweetly pressed her finger to her lips signaling him to quiet down just a bit. Thats when I reached her. With a lump in my throat and tears cresting my eyes I touched her shoulder, Your son is amazing. Really, really amazing. Some would say John has special needs but I wonder if we are wrong in giving that label to someone who has such capacity to not lose the wonder of life. I wonder if I was really the one with special needs that day. After all, I needed John way more than he possibly needed me. As I reached Johns mom I touched her shoulder all I could get out was how amazing her son was. And then my throat did that lockdown thing and I knew better than to stand there and drip tears and snot on her. So, I walked away. And though I was crying, I was smiling. Her son has such a rich, wonderful purpose on this earth. His joy ministered deeply to me that day. God assured my heart that He has a wonderful plan for all His children. All! God used him. This man-boy, who Im convinced has the worlds greatest gift for teaching others about joy and the passionate embrace of the magnificent! Dear Lord, unrush me. I dont want to miss one more moment. Help me learn to see the magnificent today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 17:27:16 +0000
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