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I was riding in an elevator yesterday with my wife and little man Roscoe when at the last minute a young asian girl jumped in. The past few days I have been picking up bits of the Japanese language as we have been on holiday in Hawaii. So, when this 9 year old girl stepped into the elevator, I thought it must be my moment to practice this new language.

My head was flushed with all kinds of ideas of how much of an idiot I will sound if I don’t say the word right. If you are not aware, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn, along with Cantonese/Mandarin. I am sure there are a few others that are equally  challenging but these I have found challenging from first hand accounts in China and Japan.

After realizing I probably won’t get the Japanese intonations correct, my mind echoed thoughts  of how weird for you to talk to a 9 year old. Instantly I have a picture of some dirt bag named Chester “the molestor” with a mustache who solicits young Asian girls. In the matter of a second, my mind has flashed 2 viable excuses of why I should not make conversation. If I let my mind continue I am most certain I can create a few more.

Instead, I jumped out, nodded my head and said “hai“. Immediately after nodding and speaking, I quickly wondered if I had misjudged this young girl to be Japanese when maybe she is Chinese? I caught myself in slow motion and thought, “no way, she has to be Japanese, we are in Hawaii but then I was like. I am a stupid American how could I really know?“

After nodding and saying “hai“, I noticed the young girl grin and nod in return. It was a success! I had actually said something in Japanese and even this small nod was a victory in my book. Who cares if my intonation was wretched, who cares if it was a 9 year old girl that I said hi to because I was too scared to take on an adult.  Who cares, who cares, who cares, who cares and for the last time WHO CARES! (I found out later that “hi” I think means yes and not hello. So I actually nodded and said yes to this girl … but who really cares)

The point is, I defied my comfort zone and jumped out there. Quit living in your world on your terms in your zip code, language, food, stories and get into a new one. It may feel weird and odd and you will probably mess up. You will look like a fool and maybe you need to laugh at yourself a little bit. You will feel like a moron and will get a great injection of humility. Get all you can get, and get more of it. Get addicted to humility.

God has created man in His image and breathed life into them. How could we walk by someone who God has created and let them wash away? You could be their point of contact, a seed, hope, light, salt, joy. Maybe start with just a “hai“.

QUESTIONS:
I would love to know how you spend your time in prayer? Do you pray in the morning, afternoon, evening and why? How many of you would consider yourself “filled with the spirit”?

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