I celebrated my 70th birthday recently and I think I had an epiphany. Or perhaps I just realized something that I actually already knew.
My wife set up a birthday celebration for 40 of our closest family and friends at the beautiful Prego’s Restaurant in the District in Tustin. We had a huge room all to ourselves and I remember coming back from the restroom and stopping just outside the door. As I looked in at all the people filling the room with smiles and laughter, I didn’t see a group of people. A stranger looking in would have seen just that, a large group of people. But that’s not what I saw, because I wasn’t looking with my eyes, I was looking with my heart.
For starters, these were obviously people who were very important to me. But more importantly… they were people who (for some crazy reason) thought that I was important!
And that got me thinking about a passage in Max Lucado’s Study Bible that I just read this morning. Back In the time of King David, he didn’t start out as a King. He started out as a lowly shepherd caring for his flock of sheep. And whenever David looked out at his flock, he didn’t see a flock of sheep all looking exactly alike, making the same sounds, and moving in the same direction. David saw each one separately, and loved each one uniquely, because each one was truly special to him. And when I looked out at my friends and family, that’s exactly what I saw… with my heart.
I saw Scott, my golf buddy who is a tough competitor and yet always willing to give good advice to his competitors. And the beautiful lady with him, an animal lover who cherishes all creatures. I saw Steve and Ceci, he a gifted designer/builder, and she a great cook who loves nothing better than sharing her gorgeous home with as many friends as possible. I saw Kim a devoted nurse and her husband Marvin, a doctor who has spent whole his life delivering at risk babies. They were cracking jokes with Jeff and Brenda, the most charity minded couple I have ever met. Next to them was Brad, an avid ocean swimmer who volunteers with the Sheriff’s department to help keep our community safer. Speaking of community service, sitting across from me was Bill, my baseball buddy, who is a successful yet humble businessman who has won numerous awards for his civic contributions. Tom and Susan were there, who drove all the way from San Diego despite Tom being 84 years old. And sitting next to me was Chris, my best and most loyal friend for well over 50 years now. So many truly special and unique people were there, including my beautiful wife and awesome children who stood up and made speeches about me and yet not once did they mention my awful Dad Jokes. They did, however, almost bring me to tears.
There are too many wonderful people in my life to mention here, but the point is every single one them is unique and special. But I wouldn’t know that… if I just looked at them with my eyes.
