I Met Him on the Streets of Atlanta.
I’m going to tell you a story about a man named Sidney. Years ago, he dropped out of college, got into drugs, and started down a path that began to destroy his life. He got swept up in this lifestyle and spiraled downward until despair crowded out the hope he once had. But Sidney loved to play the trumpet, and he was really good at it… this helped him get through some of his roughest days. He eventually grew tired of watching everyone around him succeed while his life seemed to be falling apart, and he decided it was time to live a different life. So he quit drugs, and at age forty, he drew from what he did best and enrolled in music school. He graduated with a music degree and became an elementary school music teacher. He told me how much he loved his job and how much he loved those kids. But as schools continued to cut art programs from their budgets, he found it very difficult to keep a job and bounced from school to school. Now unemployed, he turned to his trumpet to help pay his bills. Each day, at the same time, he sits on a bench outside the aquarium and makes music. Let me tell you, he has a great talent! …But we live in a world that often prioritizes a lot of things over humanity, so many people pass right by. Do you know what it feels like to custom make a song for the person walking up or to greet them with a cheerful “hello” and have them pretend you’re invisible? Sidney does. Earlier that day, he was praying to God because he was at this extreme low of feeling like nobody noticed him. That morning, I walked out of our hotel and prayed, “God, show me who to stop for.” And in His goodness, He allowed our paths to intersect. We sat and talked for three hours, I got to hear his story, we made friends with an elderly woman, and we laughed a lot. He was reminded that God is good and regained hope as I prayed for him, and I was blessed as he prayed for me. When I left, he was encouraged, and I was enlightened about a way of life I knew little about. It was a win for everyone!
What is the point of this story? To show you the beauty that can happen when we dare to partner with God in bringing His kingdom and approach life through a lens of, “Who can I love today?” Between semesters, we were downtown Atlanta and my dad had business meetings all day, leaving me alone with a wide-open schedule. Before the World Race, I lived differently. If I had a day to entertain myself, I probably would have thought of what I could do or where I could go so I wasn’t awkwardly alone. Now, I love not having plans in a place where I don’t know anyone, because I get to go on a treasure hunt for people… to walk outside, find who needs love, and connect.
Mission trips are great, but we often separate that life from our “normal” lives, which makes coming home hard. We think, “That was incredible! I want to do it again,” and so we run off and sign up for another mission trip. What if instead, we lived missional lives? What would happen if we lived with our heads up, ready to love whoever crosses our path and to reflect Christ to whoever is around us? What would happen is we meet people like Sidney. We bless others and are blessed in return. People see Jesus. The world changes.
So please, live your life on a mission. This isn’t about trips, programs, or job titles—it’s simply about this wonderful thing called LIFE. We all have it… how are you living yours?
