Have you ever done something completely out of the ordinary that felt completely natural in the moment? Really not that big of a deal, but something that, had you thought about, probably wouldn’t have done? …. but you had a nudging in your spirit…. you knew it was the right thing to do, so you just went for it? And afterward everybody started talking about it as if you were a saint and told your story publicly? I haven’t but….
I heard such a story. It was about a young man who is an introvert to the core. I wanted to spend some time with him and dig a little deeper. Being an extreme introvert, I wasn’t sure he’d be willing but I took the chance and asked him out to lunch. To my delight he was more than happy to oblige. Maybe it was the free lunch -haha!
I asked him what prompted him to do such a thing and he said, “everyone is asking me that.” He said that at first he really he didn’t know, but after talking with his friends decided it must have been God. “I just had a thought and did it – that’s all”. That was it, enough said, or so he thought. But no way, I just bought him Jimmy John’s – I was going to dig!
I asked him how it made him feel to be put in the spotlight? As you would expect from an introvert, the answer was “kind of embarrassed” – although he had given his permission. He told me about some other folks who were inspired because of what he did and have taken action on some of their promptings. I said, “well that’s got to make you feel good” but to my surprise he was a bit embarrassed about that too. I wanted to say, it’s ok to feel good that God used you to spark good in others, but I held my tongue because I was just so impressed with his pure motives! I was actually a bit dumbfounded. I am so “all about” doing everything in my power to spark good in others! But he just did good – with no ulterior motive. Wow!
I had to tell this story because it’s such a great example of how when we act on our promptings to do good, the affect is often way more far reaching than we ever could ever plan or even dream.
There was a torrential down pour that began as we ate, so we hung out a little longer which was nice because it gave me a chance to process what I was hearing. He kept saying things like ‘it wasn’t that big of a deal’ yet to me it was huge. . . and to others it was hugely inspirational! My intrigue intensified. I had to figure out the lesson in it all..
I love the idea of structure, schedules and goals, but when they take away our ability to freely act – there is a stifling effect on us and we miss opportunities that may indeed be far more meaningful than what we could ever plan. I posted this on my facebook page last week, “Does your need for efficiency make you a great time manager but poor mind manager? Are you getting a lot done but you’re completely exhausted and relationships are suffering?” When I had this thought I wasn’t correlating it consciously to our conversation but in retrospect, maybe that is what it stemmed from.
As I think back on what he did, nothing big, just a very kind, loving and thoughtful gesture that was totally (well…ordinarily) out of his comfort zone I am stuck by how one person’s action affected so many. It makes me wonder how different the world would be if everyone just did what they felt called to do in the moment instead of brushing our nudgings aside with excuses. An introvert doesn’t ordinarily walk up to a stranger, much less a homeless woman, and ask her to join them for lunch but that is what he did. She accepted and accompanied him back to the restaurant where he’d left his buddies to wonder where he’d gone. After he bought her lunch they joined his bewildered friends at a table. They talked for about an hour and then went on with their day. That’s it, nothing big.
I have this feeling that more than the woman’s stomach was full. Her heart just experienced an act of love and kindness from a complete stranger. Her life may not be much different today because of lunch with three 20 something gamer dudes but many others lives are changed.
It’s crazy how what would cause overwhelming anxiety most of the time becomes “no big deal” when we have the nudging within us to act. Thank you David for inspiring us all.
I hope you too will be inspired to act the next time you have a nudging.