There have been occasions when I have become so frustrated
with people that I have told my wife, “I
believe that God is sovereign but I also believe that he placed me on the wrong
planet!” I wonder why she rarely
disagrees…but she loves me anyway. I know that there are times when my behavior
can be difficult for others to understand or I can have difficulty understanding
the behavior of these creatures called humans that inhabit this planet. I confess that there have been times when I thought
I would be better off just getting far away and becoming a hermit. When I was going through one of those
frustrating times as a teenager I declared, “All
I need is a jeep, a canoe and a German Shepherd!” That
was my way of expressing a desire to drive the jeep as far into the woods as
possible, then taking the canoe upstream and living the rest of my days with
the companionship of my loyal dog. I
think one reason we love dogs because they hang around and listen to all of our
nonsense and never talk back.
There have been times since that statement was uttered as a
teenager that I have been reminded of that sentiment. I think all of us have fleeting frustrating
moments when we feel like running away.
However, as much as I can become exasperated at times I am so glad that I
stayed around and remained connected with other humans who live on the same
planet where God placed me.
While still in seminary I was asked to conduct my first funeral. My pastor called informing me that the funeral
home had called and had a request for a minister to conduct a funeral for a man
with no church affiliation. I will never
forget seeing the middle aged man in the casket. One could tell that the brief life had been a
hard one. I remember standing in the
pulpit and doing my best to pay respects to a life that was completely unknown
to me. The eight people who had gathered
said kind words to me afterwards but the words of the man in the suit who
seemed to be the leader of the few family members who had gathered haunted
me. “I
appreciate you doing this for us. He was
a cousin that we never really knew but when I heard that he had died I felt
like he needed a decent funeral.” Wow,
how sad to have lived one’s whole life and at the end no one really knew who
you were and only through the charity of a benevolent distant family member was
a funeral possible. That funeral
conducted by an unknown, unskilled intern minister and attended by 8 people
remains the saddest I have experienced in all my years. I have often thought back of the sadness of
such a lonely life.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us of the importance of being
connected with others; “Two are better than one, because they have
a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the
other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if
two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though
one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is
not quickly broken.”
In his book, When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough,
Rabbi Harold Kushner tells the story of watching two children building a sand
castle at the beach, and then as a wave came crashing in on their work he
watched them running while holding hands and laughing as waves came and quickly
washed away the sand castle they had worked to build. He discovered a great truth in life. The castles (or works of our lives) may
crumble but we can laugh and not be discouraged if holding hands with a loved
one.
I have been blessed to meet and form friendships with people
from many regions of this planet. I have
enjoyed and my life has been enriched by exploring and learning about the
uniqueness of different cultures. I am
constantly amazed by the miracle of how we are all created in the image of God
yet each have our own unique personality.
Each person is unique and irreplaceable.
There has never been anyone like you!
In all of history and including all the billions of people who are
living on earth today, there is no one quite like you! I leave you with the following poem by Sue
Stillwell describing the uniqueness and importance of discovering, developing
and maintaining relationships with others;
To the World with Love
I open people just like Christmas presents; excitedly ripping away
ribbons, tearing away the paper and lifting the lids off the boxes; and always
a surprise awaits me.
Some of the people with the brightest ribbons and the shiniest
wrappings are empty and hollow inside.
Some people with drab plain packaging hold the most glittering precious
gifts and treasures inside of all.
And as with my Christmas presents some people I put away and never
think about; and some I admire, look at and I don’t touch; some I put on
pedestals – but they are fragile & usually break; and some become cherished
and familiar to me through constant use.
So the idea of a Jeep, canoe and German Shepherd have long
been put aside as I have enjoyed the cherished gifts of relationships I have
made thus far. I look forward to others I
have yet to discover. I encourage you, as
you go through the day, to make the most of developing and maintaining
relationships. People, not things, are
life’s greatest treasures. Relationships
are the only things in this world that are eternal.
