Somehow, though I'm not sure how it REALLY got started, we struck a friendship and really hit it off. I was only in Washington for 10 days total and met him a few days into it, but by the end of it we were best friends. Our friendship still exists today fourteen years later. He is now married to an amazing woman who is so beautiful, I constantly am wondering how he caught her. Not that he didn't deserve someone so special, but she is stunning. She's got this devious side that assures me that they get along GREAT! Whenever we talk, I am constantly plotting against Matt. It's what I do...
Anyways, when Matt walked into my life, I was dealing with depression and on a few occasions was considering taking my own life. Life seemed hopeless, I felt lost, I felt like I was wandering aimlessly through this life with no passion and no purpose. Matt was always there, maybe not in location, but if I sent him an email (because that was the cool thing back then), I would have a response within 24 hours. Above all else, I knew that Matt loved me, that he cared for me, and that he always had my best interests at heart.
About eight years ago, I was having a conversation with my Mom about how my grandma's church was looking for a youth pastor. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, because it seemed like the church went through youth pastors really quickly. I knew that I wanted to be a youth pastor, but dismissed this church. At the time I was working overnights at Walmart. I went to bed that day (my night) and could not sleep. For two days, whenever I'd try to sleep, I would just get so excited that I literally had a grand total of 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours. I wasn't even tired when I went to work. I was energized, excited, giddy, and full of passion and expectation. Eventually, I just emailed my grandparents telling them of my situation. I was young (just barely 19), had no credentials, and I was a single female. These don't really spell success. I figured that if I emailed them that the situation would no longer be in my hands and that maybe I'd get some sleep.
Long story short, I ended up moving to Washington (to the same exact area as where I met Matt). My senior pastor was a guy named George. When I talked to him on the phone, I thought he was a short, fat, balding dark headed man. He turned out to be this tall, skinny, red headed man (who was sort of balding, but had a lot more hair than I imagined). George is not your typical pastor (at least in my limited experience). He's fun, dorky, easy to talk to, and always willing to throw things (which he learned from his previous pastor) when he gets teased. In the almost five years I spent with him, he became my dad. When I was leaving Washington, my biggest fear was losing that relationship and he told me, "I will be in your life as long as you will have me." That's a direct quote, I'll never forget those words. Eight years later, he has held true to his promise. He was the minister who married my husband and I, he dedicated my son when he was a month old, and he even came to my son's first birthday (which we had only invited grandparents). He's an incredible person and I am blessed beyond words that he showed up in my life.
I tell you these two stories about these amazing men, to tell you that sometimes the most important thing you can do in someone's life is to just show up. A lot of times we enter into a relationship with someone to see what we can get out of the deal, but these men befriended me and loved me without expecting anything in return. They've never left me when things got hard, in fact, they're the ones I run to when life is discouraging, hard, or unbearable. They're perfect people to help carry the load, and they do it happily.
How has someone "just showing up" impacted your life?
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