So, I work in a warehouse.
As you may, or may not know these places are generally dirty, hot, sweaty, depressing places where people are generally pinched into daily deadlines. This place is no different. We run an Internet company and ship thousands of pieces a week with just a handful of people. Incoming, we have roughly the same amount of inventory. As you can imagine things get a bit tense from time to time. We all have good relationships with one another but things like this happen when you are under a crunch and its 85 degrees inside. "Woe is me" right? Nope! I love my job and the people I work with. But this is not a tale about them or me for that matter.
When we ship packages from the warehouse, drivers come to our dock and pick them up from us. We share some words with them as we build relationships with them. It's always great to see them. One man in particular has had a positive affect on the morale at work. Every day at pretty much the same time his rugged, white panel truck backs up the driveway to the door. The drivers side door pops open, he jumps out, and Spanish speaking radio pours out after him. He wears a smile from one ear to another, I figure he must be about 5'6".
"Heeeeey friend" he says.
"Hey man!" I respond.
"Are you good man?" He is always showing this smile. He has a genuine happiness about him, it is so infectious. We usually trade stories from the day and do our normal business with the shipment. After no more than five minutes we say goodbye and he is on his way. His name is Juan. I can only imagine that he must be having a rough go at it from time to time. But he never shows it to us. He's seen us at some of our worst. By the time he gets to our door we have been through the gauntlet usually and we are racing the clock. Paper cuts, tired eyes, and weary souls, we greet his attitude with open arms.
One day when Juan left, my friend Kenny asked me this:
"Do you notice something about him?"
"Yes, yes I do" I replied.
"Every time he leaves I can't stay upset or stressed, I just feel like everything is gonna be alright"
"I agree, too bad he doesn't get here first thing in the morning to get us started on the right foot!"
I have been thinking about this for a couple of weeks. Juan has been visiting our warehouse every day for about a month now and he hasn't failed to lighten the mood yet. We all look forward to it now.
Now that story time is over, on to brass tacks.... How do people react to us? What is the taste left in their mouths when we depart? Are they asking what is so special about us? Or are they saying, "Wow another person who is too busy/too tired/too bored/too self-interested/too pessimistic?" Or is it important to show your stripes? Is it important to let people know that you are hurting, sad, lonely, or agitated?
I know that I would like to be the kind of person who people go, "wow this guy is drinking some kind of Kool-aid to be this joyful, free, and caring! I want some of that!"
I want to believe that Juan is on Jesus-crack. I want to believe that he is high-on-life, and is really this happy all the time, while he is "considering the ravens," [Luke 12:24-26] since they don't worry about what they will eat or drink and they live for today. Nobody can be that happy all the time, is it part of being separated from the Lord that we are meant to struggle through our life at times? I am kind of ranting at this point. But, I created this blog to get all the tangled wires out. So, I continue....
If I am to believe that we will see trials, which we do; then do I share my lamentations with people who might be needing a smile, a friend, somebody to help them through the day? Should I be a "Juan" for those people? I think maybe yes i should try, but it would all be in vain if it's not backed by love. This brings it all back to myself. The water tower of care is not a water tower if it is not filled with love, without that love it is just a shell. The internal work is the key. The faith in knowing that God will provide (like he does for the ravens) will free my heart and soul to be what He wants me to be in the world. It's amazing how often Jesus talked about this moment and how important it is to be present.
Forcing myself to be kind wouldn't be prudent, although being a curmudgeon wouldn't be great either. Putting my trust in what He has seems to be the best way to become liberated and see more of the joy his kingdom has in store! Go to him first and the fruits of the spirit will fall into place, I heard that once (maybe more) and it seems fitting here. That is all.
