Apparently, trips to Pittsburgh are very conducive to loving on random people.
On Sunday, I had an incredibly delightful morning in the Strip District with two of the most love-filled women I know -- Hannah Gehman and Jasmine Tate. The morning began with breakfast at the famous Pamela's...except there was a long wait, so we pre-gamed at Peace, Love and Little Donuts. Ohhhh my. I had a maple bacon doughnut. And it was incredibly delicious. At Pamela's, we got to catch up on each other's lives and watch an elderly man dance as he bussed the tables. Seriously, this man was crazy awesome and looked like he came right out of a musical. He saw us watching, came over to the table, and flexed his bicep. "Not bad for 50...but I'm 74." WHAAAAAT. This dude was ridiculously muscular for a 74-year-old. crazy. and he completely made our day. we told him so. :)
We then wandered around, explored a great little cigar and coffee shop called Leaf and Bean, and bought some pretty scarves. And then we got to meet an incredible woman named Alisa.
Alisa is a substitute teacher who sells Italian ice and Christian t-shirts on the weekends. The joy and thanksgiving in this woman's eyes is greater than just about anyone I have ever encountered. She told us that she had just turned 50...and had no one to celebrate with. She told us of her longing for Christian fellowship and community. She told us of the time she just wanted to talk to someone on the phone...so she sat down, dialed J-E-S-U-S and poured out her heart. We prayed for her, got a couple words of knowledge, and hugged her. We met the little Ecuadorian boy, David, that plays with her dog, Pepito. We were given the privilege of loving Alisa.
We then left and went to a fancy chocolate store. I suddenly had a deep desire to buy Alisa a chocolate bar, so we did just that. We decided milk chocolate was a safe bet...we chose Chocolove. :) When we brought it back to her, Alisa informed us that it was her favorite kind of chocolate and she was just contemplating buying it the night before. There was a love poem inside that spoke about the light behind her eyes. Wow.
Then we ran into Indie, who played his didgeridoo for us. He's essentially a traveling bum and wants to start a commune in Vancouver. Jasmine spoke truth over him about being an incredible father one day. He wants to be a stay-at-home dad. He told Hannah he liked her sweater. Jasmine gave him her leftover crepes.
A bit later, we ran into Indie again and his friend who played the fiddle. We were about to get in our car and leave. But, we turned around because Hannah wanted to give him her sweater. We listened to their music and met a girl named Joy who was covered in tattoos and facial piercings. Indie decided that we must be the kindest people ever. (hah. hardly.) We met an artist woman who originally told us how screwed up America is because all kids want to be is bums...eventually, she became "shy" and started talking about art and music instead. We loved them, and then we had to leave.
I realized as we were driving back home that we view loving people in the wrong way. Being Jesus to other people is viewed as a burden. We think that loving people is something difficult...something to be trudged through. But, that is the wrong perspective.
We are given the privilege of sharing the love of Christ with others. It is an honor to love. Showing love to baristas, busboys, and bums should be a joy. It should be a natural outpouring of the love that we are receiving from our Father. Jesus gave us the privilege of continuing His work...but do we see it that way? I know that I usually don't. I often see it as a command that I have to follow, rather than a joyful gift that I long to give away to everyone that I meet.
On Sunday, I felt deeply honored to have been given the opportunity to love these precious people. I pray that I feel this way every day. I pray that you get to experience this kind of honor, too.
I leave you with one of my all-time favorite quotes. It's by Jackie Pullinger.
""I lack nothing. I have everything -- everything I want in Christ. But that's not true for the world. There are millions and millions and millions of people who lack. They don't know those words about the Lord who feeds hungry people. Nobody ever told them that oppressed people could be freed. They live believing that corruption is the norm. They pay people back with what they've been paid -- whether it's bad words or injustice or blows or beatings. That's what most of them know. For these people I have no excuse, for these you have no excuse. If you will not reach them with the love of God, if you will not tell them that there is a God who loves them -- loves them enough to die to make them whole -- who will? That's why He's allowed us to remain here. So that we can take His ministry to them. It's a job that the angels longed to do. But he left it to you and me. Not just the responsibility -- but the joy, the privilege of sharing good news."
--Jackie Pullinger"
