Two weeks ago, I dedicated my
Monday Message to a close friend of mine who passed away. While I’m positive that
my friend, Jim, is in heaven and no longer suffering, I still feel the loss
because Jim was such an extraordinarily nice and caring man. He embodied the
philosophy that - If we truly care about others and take the time to stop and
listen with our hearts, people will feel loved.
As I am writing this story and pounding the keys on my keyboard, I can’t help but notice the black bracelet on my wrist… because it reminds me of Jim. It’s been there every single day for the past 10 years. It started in March of 2014. I had just finished up a meeting with the Purchasing Director of a large corporation and after the meeting was over, I had an opportunity to share my faith and tell a story about helping to install a 33’ tall Cross on top of Battle Mountain. My story must have touched him, because he immediately showed me a simple black bracelet on his wrist with the words, “I Am Second” on it, an expression of his faith that God always comes first. I thought the bracelet was really cool and said so. Later that week, when I arrived at my office I found an “I Am Second” bracelet laying on my desk, a gift from a newfound friend, who took the time to listen to me. And yeah, that made me feel good!
But the black bracelet story didn’t end there. One week later I was in a huge hurry to pick up some groceries for my wife who was hosting a party that evening. I literally ran through the store and after I tossed the groceries into my truck, I ran the cart over to the cart storage area where I noticed a young lady who worked for Ralphs. She took my cart from me but was staring at my arm. She blurted out, “That’s a cool bracelet! What does it say?” By her appearance and her difficulty with speech it was obvious that she was slightly disabled, but she had this really sincere smile. So even though I was running late I stopped and explained the meaning of the bracelet to her. Her smile got even bigger, and she said proudly, “I know all about God and He is good! Can I have one?” Her question took me by surprise, but it made me stop and think. I answered. “Yes of course you can.” I asked her what her name was, and she said, “Callie”, so I told her that I would bring her one in a few days.
Perhaps Callie was surprised that a stranger took time to talk with her. But you know what, it’s something I’m sure my friend Jim would have done. Hopefully it made her feel good and realize that she truly is important. Of course I don’t know for sure how she felt, but I do know she was smiling when I left and guess what….so was I! I may have been late for the party that day, but I learned something really important, putting someone else first before yourself is the same thing as putting God first!
Jim, if you are reading this,
please know that I will never forget you… and I will never forget the way you
made me feel. And
Happy Easter to you!
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