Race Day Community

We were made for relationships. To meet people and live in community. Without it, we tend to stop growing as a person; unchallenged and self serving would be our motto without community. This is huge for me to be writing about this topic considering I can be the definition of introvert and literally shy away from anything that involves the words, "meet" "new" and "people".

Most weekends nowadays are spent at a race track(I'm not complaining), This weekend I was very aware of the idea of meeting someone who I may never see again. Wondering if it will be my only contact with them and if that was the case, how would I want to be remembered and more importantly, what impact would I leave on their life. This weekend I saw/met a lot of amazing people and many of whom I hope to see again, but I specifically met two people that left quite an impact on me. Honestly, I'm pretty confident I may never see again, but I would never undo the times spent with them.


The first was a sweet old man who was the event security guard. His name is Bill. I'm not sure I have ever met a nicer person than Bill who managed to always say hi to me, ask how I was, and ask about any interesting events on the race track. Bill had a way to make everyone feel special by talking to them and remembering each person. While talking to him one day, he revealed it was his birthday on Sunday and that he was still working that day because he enjoyed seeing everyone so much. So I went out to get him a little cake and sing a very off note happy birthday song to him that Sunday when I saw him. Everyone deserves to be celebrated. Right after celebrating him, Mr. Bill talked to me for awhile about how such a small act could really make a huge impact on his life. That he would never forget the time I brought him a cake for his birthday. He reminded me to never doubt my ability to love people, to be true to myself, and always do what I love. I was trying to make Mr. Bill feel special and he turned it right around to encourage me. My tendency as a person is to stay in my introverted shell, but if I had, I would have never met this incredibly sweet security guard who spoke more truth into my life than he probably will ever know. He showed me the importance of not just going through life, but truly taking time to see the community around me and listen to their stories.

The second person, Jeff, was the event photographer. I found out he had to stay in the second level view room to sell photos from the race weekend and he was usually pretty bored because he sat there all day. So I managed to go up every once in awhile and talk to him. I found out about his daughter who was teacher, his son who also did photography, he showed me how to take good photos of racers, and we even shared a good laugh when a drivers engine began smoking and I said it was time to make s'mores(please understand I'm well aware that the driver of that car would not have seen my humor in the moment.) I so enjoyed my conversations with Jeff and at the end of the weekend, he looked at me and said, "thank you for making my weekend so much happier. I was not looking forward to it, but you put a smile on my face. I hope you know that you are one unique human being." Here I was just enjoying conversation with someone who likes to talk to people and I was blown away by how the simple act of taking time to enjoy someone else's life could impact them so much. 


So here's my point of what I learned this weekend; The importance of intentionality in every moment and every single minute of the day. The fact that it's not just people going throughout their daily buisness and we just manage to be in the same place at the same time. Instead, the fact that I may never see Bill or Jeff ever again. But also the fact that our paths did cross and I will never be the same because of them. They altered and molded my life in many different ways. The beautiful thing is that we all have that ability to interact with each other, to share a smile, share a thought, or even share a cake. Too many times we can be so self consumed by our plans, thoughts, and needs that we tend to forget about the people around us. 

Whatever it is, we don't come into each other's lives and leave with a neutral impact. We either impact each other in a positive or a negative way. So this is a challenge for me just as much as I'm challenging you. Be intentional. But not just with the people that will stick around in your life... because honestly, those are sometimes the easiest relationships to be intentional with. Be intentional with the relationships that you may only see for a moment. Because we only live this life once. There is a beautiful urgency to share a love and a hope that this world cannot offer. We are the deliverers of this eternal hope, so don't hold back just for the consistent interactions that stay in your life; but even more so, be consistent with the inconsistent relationships because it may be your one and only time to ever shine that light.