"Wow, you have been to a lot of places, which is most significant?"
She didn't speak as eagerly, but lingered with her thoughts before saying, "None of those I mentioned." I figured she was going to dive headlong into another series of adventures she left out before. Instead, she mentioned an anniversary trip to a local mountain town.
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Because my husband and I talked. We bought some whiskey, and it inspired us. I don't know. There was something about the whiskey. We sat on the porch and passed it back and forth. And we talked, and there's just something about it. You should try it."
"Try the whiskey?"
"No, try talking with the whiskey. There is something about it, really. It was such a spiritual experience. You have to create those spiritual moments. You are pretty spiritual, right?"
______
I ran to the United Customer Service desk seeking help. The woman behind the counter maintained an empty smile and chirpy voice inviting me to step forward.
A routine doctor's appointment revealed that my wife's pregnancy turned ectopic, which required emergency surgery. She needed the surgery before I could return from my trip to Austin, but I wanted to see if I could hop an earlier flight directly into town.
"How can I help you?"
I explained my situation, and she said there were plenty of seats on the earlier flights. "Give me a moment, and you'll be set up." She paused for some time to type, stare, and smile at her monitor. After a few minutes, she reached under the counter and pulled out my new boarding pass.
"You know that you didn't lose the baby, right? It isn't dead." she said handing me the ticket.
"Yeah, we did. I know sometimes they can save them with ectopic pregnancies but this wasn't one of those cases."
"No, I mean the baby isn't gone."
"What?"
"Its spirit will come back. It will come back when you have another baby. Its only waiting for another body to inhabit. Only the body died, the baby is still waiting."
"Oh," I didn't know what to say. The day was strange enough already.
"So, really you haven't lost anything. The Buddha will allow the child to re-incarnate so that you will still be the parent. Do you know about Buddhism?"
______
It was only the fourth or fifth time we skateboarded together. Outside those times, we didn't really know each other. As far as my 15-year-old, middle school mentality was concerned, this was one of the cool kids on the block, and my social status remained poised to make leaps and bounds if I could somehow carve out a friendship with this kid. My mom picked us up from our typical skate spot and agreed to drive him home. Josh felt it was a little earlier than usual and asked, "Do you have something to do?"
My mom spoke for me, "We go to church on Wednesdays. Garrett has youth group."
My face flushed instantly, and I wanted to gag my mother so she wouldn't embarrass me further.
"What do you do there?" Josh asked.
My mom explained for some time as Josh continued to ask questions about church and youth group. Then, at a stop light, she turned around and looked at me, "Garrett, you should invite Josh to youth group."
______
Undoubtedly, he is the most energetic, sporadic middle school student I've ever encountered. He can talk as fast as anyone, laugh as loud as anyone, and sway a crowd with the energy pulsing from his personality. There is a certain magnetism lying within.
A few days ago, we ran into one another at target and talked about nothing for a moment. Then, I said, "I need get going," and walked away. I passed nearly five aisles before he yelled my name. I walked back.
"What's up?"
"Is it cool to invite a friend to youth group? I'll just bring one, I swear."
"Why do you even have to ask? It is always cool to invite friends. If I ever tell you otherwise, I want you to tell the elders and beg them to fire me."
He smiled, "Okay."
______
I noticed that many others I encounter unashamedly share their beliefs in attempts to spread hope. The secretary after my appointment quickly pointed out the spiritual affects of the whiskey and unabashedly encouraged me to engage in the practice. The Buddhist woman from United tried desperately to offer me hope in my situation through the lens of her religion. My mother spoke openly and freely to my new friend about God and church. Yet, when my mother turned to me and asked me to invite Josh to youth group my embarrassment nearly overran me and left Josh out in the cold. How many times have we all done this? (For the record, I did invite him, but really I didn't because my mother engaged him in the conversation and forced me to verbalize the punchline.)
When the student asked me if it was cool to invite friends to youth group, I knew something was wrong. The wrong thing is that we don't talk about our faith, God, testimony, Savior, church, or whatever religious word you want to substitute for the lifestyle of following Christ. Specifically, I don't do that as casually and consistently as is necessary. I think my job forces me to do so more often than not, which makes me wonder what I'll do in seminary. The Great Commission is clear, and too often we all reserve that call for 'missionaries', or anyone else obediently seeking God's kingdom. It's as if the Gospel has been compartmentalized instead of fully integrated.
Others are talking. Are we? Are we able to understand how the gospel plays out in all areas of life? Would we know how to comfort those who are grieving with the good news of Jesus? Can we speak casually and confidently to others about what God says? When our understanding of who God is and what God's done becomes so utterly intertwined in all we do, in our daily lives, how could we not talk about Jesus? Otherwise, are we talking without really understanding? Or, worse, are we expecting others to talk for us? Is talking about our life's commitment even on our radar?
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