Two Red Bandannas and a VW Bug

Not long ago I read the book Love Does by Bob Goff. It's incredible. I think every single person should read it. Often times I'm guilty of reading a book so quickly that I don't slow down and really let things resonate in my heart. I get fired up with every chapter, story and paragraph. So I love to go back and revisit the chapters of a book. I don't necessarily re-read the book in order again. I just peruse the chapters like I'm scrolling through the archives of my favorite blog. This is what I'm learning...

"I had a down vest, two red bandannas, a pair of rock climbing shoes, seventy-five dollars, and a VW Bug. What else did I need?" - BG

Bob tells this story. About a boy named Bob (yes himself). He was a junior in high school. Bob decided at the end of his junior year it was time to be done with high school and time to move to Yosemite Park and climb mountains and live out his dream.

While Bob was in high school he became great friends with a Young Life counselor. He was Bob's mentor. Bob wasn't completely sure about Jesus, be he knew there was something different about the counselor. Something about the way the counselor was interested in his life. Something about the way the counselor would give up his time for Bob. If nothing else, Bob knew most people just didn't do that kind of thing.

Bob thought he'd stop by the counselor's house and tell him he was skipping town. Bob knocked on the front door and told the counselor about his great plan to drop out of high school and live out his dream in the mountains. The counselor disappeared inside momentarily and came back with a backpack, a sleeping bag under his arm, and four words,

"Bob, I'm with you."

Bob recounts the Counselor's words, "Something in his words rang right through me. He didn't lecture me about how I was blowing it and throwing opportunities away by leaving high school. He didn't tell me I was a fool and that my idea would fall of the tracks on the way to the launchpad. He didn't tell me I would surely crater even if I did briefly lift off. He was resolute, unequivocal, and had no agenda. He was with me."

The two headed to the mountains in the beat up VW Bug, stole a night at the camping grounds, and failed miserably on their first day of attempting to find Bob a job in the small town. Bob briefly lost hope until the ccounselor reminded him "Bob, you can do this thing if you want. You have the stuff it takes to pull it off. These guys don't know what they're missing. Let's try a few more places. Either way, Bob, I'm with you."

The next day the friends struck out on the job search again. Bob was out of money. And after a long silence coming to the conclusion that going back home to finish high school was the thing to do. The counselor told him "Man, whatever you decide, just know that either way I'm with you, Bob."

I'm with you. This compels me over and over.

Every one of us makes big decisions in our lives. We decide what sports to play in high school. What college to attend. What our major will be. Where we'll live. Who we'll marry. What job to take. Who comes and goes from our lives. What church to attend. What house to buy. Everyone in our life seems to have an opinion on these things. Sometimes these opinions can pull us in a thousand different directions. Sometimes these opinions drown out our hearts. But is the outcome of these things really the question?

When I read the bible I don't always see people getting answers. When I pray I don't always get answers. However, I do see we are offered peace. And it comes from God being with us. Isn't that what He promises? He will never leave nor forsake us?

"I learned that faith isn't about knowing all of the right stuff or obeying a list of rules. It's something more, something more costly because it involves being present and making a sacrifice." -BG

I think about the important decisions I've made in my life. My biggest joy's and my biggest scars. They all come down to one thing, who was present. Who looked at me and said, either way, I'm with you. Who sacrificed to be present. Who drove too many hours. Spent too much money. And didn't get enough sleep. Who skipped the meeting. Figured out the plans. Didn't turn in the homework just to sit with you. Who bought the plane ticket. Who moved across the country. Who jumped for joy when your team scored the winning run. Who surprised you a day early. Who planned a night of theatre when 3 years of schooling was hanging in the balance. Who skipped the concert. Who missed the graduation. Who didn't make the trip for homecoming. Who sat and listened. Who always answered the call. Who didn't give up when your heart was withering away. Who danced when the movie was over. Who didn't dance in the rain. Who was at the big game. Who yelled at you when you struck out. Who picked you up on the worst night of your life.

Who was present.

The people who love you are present. Those people sacrifice over and over. They have no agenda. They don't have a stake in the outcome. They look at you and say, I'm with you, infinity times out of infinity. When you identify those friends, those family members, that person...you will be present. And they won't be perfect. And someone in those relationships will always lose heart. But when the time comes that you're standing there with two red bandannas and a VW Bug, you'll get a look that says, I'm with you. When you don't deserve it. When I can't understand. And regardless of the outcome.

"The world can make you think that love can be picked up at a garage sale or enveloped in a Hallmark card. But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It's a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright." - BG

What you don't know is that Bob showed up on the counselor's door step the day after the counselor's wedding. We don't find out, but I'd imagine the counselor's wife was immediately disappointed when her new husband said he was leaving on their first weekend together for some high school kid. I'd also imagine she quickly realized exactly why she said, yes.

Who are we with? What are we sacrificing to love them?

More to come.