Coffee

On Sunday morning, my first (of three) in Ozark, Missouri, I was awoken by a kick.  It was gentle, more of a nudge with the foot, but it startled me nonetheless.  But since I was in an unfamiliar place and sleeping on the floor, I figured that I had just surprised an unsuspecting resident with my precarious position.  I tried to shrug it off but was roused once more with another, slightly harder and more direct, kick.  I looked up, waved, and tried to go back to sleep, but, seeing that I was finally awake, my new "friend" told me to get up so he could take me out for coffee.

I had never met this guy before, but maybe I should back up a bit.  I was staying with my friend Kirsten, but she goes to an intensely...conservative...college so I was required to sleep in a guys' dormitory.  She directed me to friends of hers and I plopped down on the floor, hoping that they were expecting my arrival.  But since it was well into the wee hours of the morning, I wasn't able to announce my existence to my short-term roommates.  Nate, my rouser, saw me lying on the futon mattress and decided we needed to get to know each other.

We drove to downtown Springfield (Missouri's 3rd largest city!) and sat down at the Mud House with a delightfully steaming cup of frothy caramel goodness.  We relaxed and chatted.  He was so easy to talk to and seemed genuinely interested.  We talked about his life and aspirations and desires and I found out that he did this sort of thing all the time.  He has this knack for making people feel special, for going out of his way to show others that they are cared for.

I was struck.  This young man, my age or a bit younger, taking the time to buy coffee and waste some hours with a man (using that term loosely of course) he'd never met, nary even heard about.  I want to be that guy. I want to touch people like that.  It was such a simple gesture, and yet it was so inspiring.  He made me feel...great, just like I'm sure he's done time and again to so many others.  How great to want to be impactful on as many lives as possible.  How wonderful to care and really get to know people on a deeply personal level.

Definitely a learning experience...