Working Together

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

It's been said that the moments we share in one another's lives are but pearls on each other's necklace. What this means is that no one of us will have a complete effect on someone else, rather the things we share in those moments help to build each other into the person we are.

About 5 or 6 years ago I had a retail job selling a language learning program out of a kiosk in a very busy shopping center. I did fairly well financially, but as anyone in commission-based sales will tell you, there are good months and there are bad months. It was during one of those days in the middle of one of those bad months that I had an amazing encounter with someone who put a pearl on my necklace of life.

I was in a place in my life where things were difficult to keep up with. My income wasn't enough to cover all our bills, my seminary studies were falling behind to almost non-existent because I was holding down 2 full-time jobs, and things at home were suffering from my lack of time there.

As I opened my kiosk, contemplating what direction to go in, a young man sat on the stone wall next to my kiosk, He watched me work, which kind of creeped me out, and whenever I looked at him he smiled, which creeped me out a little more. On one of those times we exchanged smiles he wished me a good morning, which I returned.

We engaged in simple conversation - hello, how are you, do you think the weather is going to hold out - then, seemingly out of nowhere, he says to me, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Oh no, I thought, if the next question is "are you saved?" I really didn't know what to do.

I said I did and he proceeded to tell me how he just came to know Jesus at a fellowship service a church was holding in the beach park close by. He went on to say how he was homeless, but how that didn't matter because he had good friends, a good pastor, a new family in his church, and he had God in his life.

I mostly listened as he went on about how he came to Hawaii and ended up homeless. He was an interesting young man, and the more I listened the happier I became that I decided to pay attention to him. He asked me about my church experiences, which I shared with him. He seemed to genuinely want to know about the United Church of Christ's beliefs and how they differed from a fundamental way of thinking. He asked questions and listened intently to the answers.

I didn't realize when it happened, but I began to notice I was telling him about what I was going through. He listened as I told him about the job, and the other job, and bills, and feeling bad about not being home enough. He sat there without judgment and just listened.

After about 30 minutes he said he had to go. Before he left he asked if we could pray together, I said it was fine. After we prayed he said to me, "God has a message for you. Sometimes God makes our lives empty in order that there can be more room for him." Then, just like that, he was gone.

He was the much-needed water for the seed within me that was having a difficult time growing.