I'm dressed for the pool when out of nowhere, one of our summer afternoon thunderstorms hits, delaying  my lap session. So I wait, determined to work in my mid-week exercise. I later realize, exercise is not the priority, Jesus is! I finally slip into the water an hour before closing, as a young substitute lifeguard from a distant pool arrives and takes the stand.  Just Qaazi and me... It's clear to me that he wants to tell his story and because I'm the only one in the pool, I'm the obvious audience. I swim a few laps and while resting, he shares details. Qaazi, a bright  Pakistani teen, tells me about his school, his college plans, his secret girlfriend. More laps and rest. He shares about his whole family and BOOM, announces that he's an atheist! And for a second punch, is all for abortion. (But rejects the Big Bang ???) Perhaps, he is testing me for a reaction,  which he does not receive.
I swim a few more laps, praying for an opportunity to share my faith. Qaazi softens. He pours his complicated relationship with his family and religious leaders; He hates the rules, he hates the hypocrisy. There's my opening. So I agree that I too would have to reject his parents'  Allah and the burden of earning my after-life. I speak tenderly about my Jesus who also detested the hypocrisy of Pharisees and who lovingly came from Heaven because following the rules could not get us one inch closer to life with our Creator. Relationship not religion...my only message. Qaazi listens without debate. There are no more laps on this day, just love for a young seeker.
Lessons learned:
God ordains our days. An earlier trip to the pool? No conversation!
A new appreciation for immigrant students making sense of two cultures
One must cast off false gods in order to fully embrace the love of the One and Only.
Like my pastor always says, the world has come to our city. We are "foreign" missionaries on our own soil.
I probably will never see Qaazi again on this planet, but I'm praying I'll see him in Paradise. I ask God to reach him whether by ordinary or miraculous. Qaazi is on a journey and I want him to know my wonderful God
Perhaps you will join me in asking.

God's Time

Rob listening to old Friends alumni talking about the good old days

Dinner's on the table and it's getting cold. Where is that man? 
How many of us have repeated those words in our lifetime?As our years together leaned into an easy stride, I wised up, learning our nightly fare needed to take a back seat to something bigger. Rob was usually late because someone had stopped him to talk. Rob lived on God's Time, not Robin's or even his own. 
He didn't schedule his life so tightly that he would be rattled if life threw a curve ball into his day.  Rob enjoyed the conversations with the people who graced his day, never thinking of them as interruptions. Chats after Sunday night basketball, Wednesday night meetings, or while packing up to leave the office, Rob, "all in" when it came to people, made time for his friends.  He wanted to know about their families, their dreams and most importantly, their trials.
I love how he would follow up to see if an interview went well or a family conflict was resolved. He just enjoyed doing life well with his friends at a leisurely, live-giving pace. 
A lot like Jesus, don't you think? A wise young ruler, a tax collector, a woman with a twelve year long health problem,  just to mention a few who altered his day... And Jesus would stop and make that individual's need the most important appointment of the day. No irritation, no annoyance, everything and everyone would wait, time stood still while the Master loved on his Father's time.
I'm learning from both.