Full
”I’m not in a hurry
When it comes to your spirit
When it comes to your presence
When it comes to your voice
I’m learning to listen
Just to trust in your nearness
I’m starting to notice
You are speaking”
~ Will Reagan & United Pursuit, “Not in a Hurry”
I was having coffee and working on a project ahead of a lunch meeting. A younger man I used to coach came into the shop, noticed me, and joined me at my table for two. There was a lightness and ease about him that surprised me. He was expressing the joy he was experiencing in this season and giving me updates on how well his professional and personal life was trending.
And then his tone changed. He leaned in and said some of the kindest things I have heard in some time. He honored the investment of time I had made in him. He acknowledged the impact of the strength he said I provided during the toughest season of his personal and professional life. He was even attaching some of his current success to the time we spent together.
So rare.
So honoring.
He told me he was driving down the road and was instructed to go inside for an undisclosed reason. Once he saw me, he knew why.
There were three crucial steps in this process that made it so uncommon:
He listened for God’s voice and direction.
He followed through on what he heard.
When given the option, he selflessly honored another for their contribution to his life.
He was intentional and clear, pausing to make sure that I heard what he was wanting to say. Such a kind and thoughtful ‘joy bomb” in the middle of a busy day. It confirmed all the things he was saying about how well things were going for him. He had a surplus. He offered out of his fullness and it didn’t deplete him at all, but filled him further. You can’t fill other people’s cups from an empty pitcher.
I would be remiss if I didn’t add some weight to the “crucial” steps above. If there wasn’t a whole lot more going on in his life, those simple 1-2-3 steps wouldn’t have been possible. If there hadn’t been any healing or restoration, none of them would have occurred.
If he didn’t have clarity of heart and mind, he couldn’t have listened and heard God’s voice.
If he didn’t have the margin in his schedule, he could have never followed through on the directive.
If he was operating from a posture of scarcity, he could have never shared so abundantly.
In this season, he knows who he is, has a healthy EQ, and has the margin to spare for impacting and changing the lives of everyone he encounters. My guess is that there are other people benefitting from all that abundance I saw; his wife, children, and co-workers at a minimum.
Thankfully, today, I was one of them.
Consider
Are you operating out of overwhelm or abundance?
Do you think you are missing out on opportunities like this one?
What needs to change so that you can hear, act on what is heard, and offer to others in your personal or professional life?