My Experience with Hippies Part II: ‘Watermelon’ or ‘How Fruit Taught Me About Generosity’

If you want the background to this story, please read this.

 

On of the reasons we chose the hotel we did, was because they had a rooftop pool, not unlike this one. Pretty sweet, huh? Except by “rooftop” they meant the top of the third floor. In case you were curious, the 3^rd floor was not the top.  Anyway, Allison and I wanted to spend a relaxing afternoon at the pool. Apparently, so did everyone else.

 

So we are hanging out at the pool, mostly people watching, because, well, they were really interesting. To our right was a woman thanking her 17 year old daughter for not getting to drunk during the festival, while her uncle brought her another drink. To our left was a group of people with some really unfortunate tattoos, some of which looked like they may have been done that weekend, possibly right there by the side of the pool. 

 

Allison was napping in the sun, while I attempted to read in between my watching of the pool party all around us. All of a sudden, this guy walks out onto the pool deck and declares, “I brought you all watermelon.”

 

And he had. He had a giant watermelon in his hands, found a table, and quickly cut it up. He then proceeded to serve anyone who wanted one a piece of watermelon. As he did this, he would introduce himself to people, hear a little bit of their story and then move on to the next person who wanted some fruit.

 

It was actually one of the cooler things I have seen in awhile.

 

Why? Because I would never do that. Not because I am jerk or don’t want anyone to have any, but its just not something I would ever do.

 

I am not a generous person. And its not something I like about myself. Luckily, my wife is way better at being generous and I am learning from her. But I want to get to the point where I am at a semi-roof top pool and think, “I bet everyone would like some refreshing watermelon.”

 

I think I miss out on being generous due to my overwhelming selfishness. That sounded a lot deeper in my head. I think about making sure other people have the opportunity to be generous to me, but rarely am I fully prepared to be generous to others.

 

I have been thinking about the early church a lot. The end of Acts 2 says that the disciples “shared with great joy and generosity.” I think this is one of the reasons I have a deep longing for community, even in the midst of quality relationships. I am not very generous. It would be easy to blame my parents because I am an only child, but come on, that ship sailed a long time ago.

 

Watching some random guy share watermelon is an image I hope to keep with me for a long time. May we all learn what it is to be generous and experience the joy that comes along with that… 

Missing the Point: My Experience with Hippies Part I: ‘Elevator Rides’ or ‘How to Completely Kill A Congenial Conversation As Fast As Possible'

Allison and I recently celebrated our 5th anniversary, and we decided to stay at a nice hotel right on the river in downtown Louisville during our recent visit to Kentucky.

 

Sadly, we were not the only people who thought this would be a great place to spend a day or two.  We were sharing the hotel with two groups: The Presbyterian Women & Forecastle – 'A Festival for Music, Art & Activism'. Or as I have come to call it: Forecastle – 'An Excuse to Demolish a Hotel and Smoke Weed.' Or: Forecastle – 'How Random Interactions Can Make You Desire More From the Church.'

 

First of all, when I say ‘hippies’ – I am talking about real, bonafide hippies - not people who call themselves hippies because they hate showering and have seen one Grateful Dead show – I am not talking about them. Real hippies are probably the nicest, most inclusive people I have ever met. I mean, I consider myself nice, but very rarely do I initiate conversations with people at random. The hippies at this hotel saw everyone who was in the same building as them as a chance for a conversation, and because of this, it lead to this exchange…

 

We finish checking in and pull all our stuff into the nice glass elevator, not unlike this one. We are followed into the elevator by two Presbyterian Women (who were easy to distinguish because they all wore their name tags, and well, were old women. The two women took their place at the back of the elevator and assumed elevator etiquette. You know… where conversations are put on hold and everyone faces forward. Allison and I were spending the time by leaning against the side-wall, staring at the illuminated floor buttons. As the doors were about to close, a young guy, maybe 22 at the oldest, slides in and smiles. He makes eye contact with all of us and is just kind of grinning, in his oversized sweatshirt and lack of shoes.

 

He presses his button and then says, “What have you all been up to?”

 

And then it happened.

 

The moment the point was missed.

 

As I open my mouth to respond, very quickly one of the older ladies answers, fairly harshly, “We (gesturing to her friend) were just at church. Where have you been?”

 

The young guy responds, “My grandmother goes to church – I think she is a Lutheran.”

 

The other lady responds, “You should go with her sometime. (dramatic pause) Soon.”

 

I think my mouth stayed open and I kind of stared at the two women. It all happened so quickly. The elevator chimed, the doors opened and we all disembarked. Allison and I walked the hall sort of stunned, and vaguely depressed at what had just happened.

 

Here is the thing - there are very few opportunities to talk with people who are willing to ask questions. Tons of people are willing to talk, not a lot are willing to ask questions, especially to people who are the exact opposite of them. Any number of responses could have been offered, but instead, the only one that was offered was one intended to judge, belittle and accuse.

 

I think the point is that there was an opportunity to express grace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and joy. I am not asking people to have a mind-blowing conversation in an elevator. And I don’t think that the point was that this guy was saying, “tell me everything about Jesus,” or anything like that. I think the point is that we often overlook seemingly insignificant interactions because they aren’t in settings where our radar is up. I am pretty sure that if this guy had walked into the Pres. Women conference, that they would have been more than willing to talk to him, but because it was in an elevator, and because elevators already raise people’s awkward levels, instead of being able to create dialogue, the door was slammed shut (or in the case of the elevator, slide shut agonizingly slow).

 

I guess the takeaway for me is to desire to be more vigilant – to be much more aware of the people around me and the longing for conversation, for connection.

 

May we be aware of the stories all around us. And may we be willing to engage those around us with grace and love, no matter how seemingly insignificant the conversation may seem to us.

What's the Point...

...so recently, on a tour of a famous Saint Louis landmark, some friends and I were loitering around the back of the tour and came to an aspect of the tour that was photo worthy. We knew this because there was a sign that said "Photo Opportunity." We thought it was funny, so I took a picture by the sign, rather than the actual object.

Why? Because I think I am hilarious and ironic. 

However, several days later, I went to caption that picture, and I had no idea how to caption it, because I couldn't remember what we were actually supposed to be taking a picture of - completely missing the point of that stop on the tour. Is this a big deal? 

No, mostly because the tour had free beer at the end, so I think it was intended for us not to remember. However, missing the point is a microcosm of my life story. 

Here is the thing: all too often, because of arrogance, a lack of humility, going too fast, distraction, or a cornucopia of other reasons, I often miss the point of events in my life, and miss the point of who God is calling me to be. Sometimes I am way off, other times, just slightly. These writings are a compilation of stories, thoughts on faith, community and attempts to follow Jesus where the point has been missed. 

The 'point' of these writings (get it? 'the point'? - man, I AM hilarious) is hopefully to provide some sort of cathartic release for the writer, but also so that we can all learn and take steps to hitting the mark. 

...glad you are here for the journey.