Last Saturday, I spent the whole day again with Colton, a 5th grader from my building. I knocked on his door at about 11:00 am Saturday morning and from there, we walked to the bus.
I had only watched movies with he and his grandma at their apartment up to this point, so I had no idea what he would be like “in the real world.”
What I learned was that Colton, whenever he stepped outside of his apartment, was quite a handful.
First off, he asked a lot of questions. He asked about the buses and when they would run. He asked about how many snowplows the city had that day, because he believed there needed to be more because they weren’t getting the job done. When I took him out to meet some friends at Chickfila, he asked some rather embarrassing questions, which caused me to hang my head in shame.
Second, he just could not stop talking. From the bus driver to everyone around him, he asked about their day, and gave his opinion on pretty much everything.
Third, he had no sense of what was and is not appropriate socially. He also could not stop worrying. Being around him for a whole day was incredibly stressful and required every last bit of patience I had to give.
Through all the stress, I was able to press on and see that I had an opportunity. Colton needed and needs someone to tell him to be quiet, to not sing out loud in public whenever he feels like it or laugh incessantly for no reason at all. He needs a brother and needs a friend.
In the midst of his worrying, I was also able to see that my constant worrying and “serious” mindset was even sillier than his troublesome thoughts. When we left Chickfila and he said, “What if the buses don’t run tonight and my Grannie can only come get me because there won’t be room for you in her car? What will we do then?”
To his resounding questions, I said, “Colton, it will all be fine.”
And that night, after I tried to comfort Colton by telling him it would be ok, I felt that was exactly what God was trying to tell me.
Matthew 6:25-27 NIV
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
I could have spent the whole day Saturday by myself watching movies or doing anything I would normally do on a Saturday. Yet, by stepping out of my comfort zone and hanging out with Colton, I was stretched and learned more than I could have done doing anything else that day.
My word of encouragement and advice is for you, to now step out of your comfort zone. Go hang out with a friend, or find a new one to pour into. You never know the lessons God may have to teach you through them, or how He may want to use you in their lives. And that, my friends, is the beauty of godly community and living on purpose for Jesus.
Until Next Time,
Jacobo
The Adventures of A Warrior 