Bono, the lead singer for U2, has had the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people. Not just in the music world, but some of the
most influential people of all time. For example, he has met with: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Frank Sinatra to name just a few. As I listen to his book, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, it seems like every chapter is packed with his meetings and friendships with some of the most influential and fascinating people.
While thinking about this, I found myself feeling envious because I would like to be friends with some of these people. And then it occurred to me that I, too, had the privilege of hanging out with some of the most influential and fascinating people as well. For example, I have been friends with Dick Patty, Jesse Miller, Paul Bradley, Ed Goodrick, Chuck Swindoll, Larry Crabb, Mark and Tara Miller, Dexter and Ashley Wise, and David Schroder to name just a few. I am sure that Bono would like to meet with my friends, because like his friends, they are some of the most wonderful people who have been changing the world.
C.S. Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” Some people have names that are immediately recognizable and may have more influence than others. But there is no such thing as an ordinary person. Everyone has a soul that God has placed in them, and everyone is changing the world every day. As John Donne saw so insightfully, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Every day, all of us, have the opportunity to meet with the most amazing people, because there is no such thing as an ordinary person. I want to treat everyone I meet as if they were a president of a country, a famous author, or a rock star. I always want to be appropriately curious because everyone has a story; I always want to show them respect and value them for who they are, and I always want to express my thankfulness that they have chosen to spend time with me.
Last month we started physical therapy for Debbie and have been meeting twice a week with Ms. K. She has a great sense of humor, is very professional, patient and kind. She has changed our lives and continues to improve our lives every time we meet with her. How I thank God for who she is and her dedication to helping others. We feel so privileged that she is willing to spend time and share her knowledge with us. We feel like the luckiest people in the world. I feel this way about so many medical professionals who have helped us in the last two years, but because we meet with Ms. K. twice a week, we have gotten to know her a little better, and she feels like a friend who has a deep desire to help us.
Like Bono, I have met the most wonderful people who have sacrificed so much for me and for the world. Also like Bono, I struggle with how to express my deep appreciation, not only for how these people are helping me, but for how they are impacting many others who need their help. When Bono met with Pope John Paul II, he expressed his thanks by giving the pope his sunglasses, a gesture the pope seemed to understand and appreciate. I want to give gifts like that. Little symbols that express how thankful I am for what they are doing for me, but also how much they are doing for the world.
I pray that today you will find a way to express your appreciation to the people who are making your life, and the world, a better place. Perhaps you might think of people who are seldom thanked for their work: your therapist, a flight attendant, a neighbor, your boss, or your customers. I pray this week you will go out of your way to say thank you because no man is an island and there is no such thing as an ordinary person.
