Last Thursday, I woke up and had a wonderful devotion. As I read from Colossians, I was hit with the realization that I need to be willing to give God 100% of who I am. Everything from being mentally tuned into God to be excited about the work he is doing to my having a willing spirit for whatever the work he has prepared for me may be. It served as the perfect foundation for the lesson I was about to learn that day.
Speed up a couple hours to my group participating in the Urban Plunge. They had from 9-1 to walk around assigned parts of the city and interact with homeless people that they would typically walk by without giving a second glance to. The Urban Plunge is typically the highlight of a lot of people's weeks, and my group this week was wonderful so I was excited for them to have this experience.
At the same time that I was preparing my group for their Urban Plunge, I was getting ready to go hang out with Champ. If you've read my Mom's blog, you'll know that Champ is a guy that I have grown to love at Charlie's Place. He was a chef for 35 years and is homeless now. He's so fun to talk to, and is incredible at maintaining a positive attitude.
I knew that I was not scheduled to work at Charlie's Place for breakfast last week, so I wasn't supposed to see him. I also knew that from the couple of times we've talked, he told me that he can usually be found in Dupont Circle. I decided that since I had 4 hours, I could hop over to Dupont Circle and see if Champ wanted to grab a cup of coffee.
The most interesting part of this, is that the closer that it came for me to go and visit Champ, the more reluctant I was to follow through on my commitment. I did not tell him that I was going to stop by and say hi, so I had no accountability. I was just going to stop by because I wasn't going to be able to see him that week.
Regardless, the closer I got, the more excuses I had to not go see him...'it might rain, maybe I shouldn't go'...'he's probably not even going to be there, it's a waste of time'...'i don't want to bother him if he is there' The list was endless. However, I pushed through, got on the metro, and got off at Dupont. By the time I was actually at Dupont Circle and looking for Champ, my attitude had taken a 180 degree turn and I was so excited to see him. As I circled Dupont Circle twice, and waited, Champ did not show. My only logical explanation is that he had somewhere he had to be...I know he's been applying for jobs recently.
As I waited for a couple minutes to see if Champ would come, I found that I ended up being so disappointed that he wasn't there, so I hopped back on the metro and went to do a devotion at Ebenezers. At Ebenezers, I saw the small group coordinator from NCC and ended up having an incredible conversation, that re-charged me enough to easily get through the rest of the week.
What am I getting at? I WANTED to go see Champ. That's why I had the idea in the first place. I was sad that I wasn't going to see him last week, so I was determined to try and say hi. When it came time to put my word to the test, I failed. I went, but I was reluctant, so I wouldn't count myself as succeeding. Success would have come with a joyful heart. But, by the time I got there, I was so excited that I wanted to carry through my original plan. God didn't want me to be at Dupont all morning, because he had a great conversation planned for me at Ebenezers. He just wanted me to be WILLING to go through with my original idea.
As a result, I have learned that I won't accomplish everything that I plan in my days. I just need to be WILLING to do it all, with a joyful attitude. God will have me do what he wants me to do. That day, he had me experience a wonderful conversation in a coffee shop. He just didn't let it happen until AFTER I had been willing enough to go and visit Champ. From now on, I need to be ready to be willing :)
