Dave

Dave never believed in me. He would say that right to my face - he thought I was on the wrong path, he wasn't sure whether my skills were a fit, he didn't know whether this whole thing was going to work out. To be honest, I think there were some pre-existing stereotypes in his own mind that blocked him from seeing what I was seeing, but there was something about my enthusiasm, at least, that convinced him to let me keep tagging along. 

To be honest, I felt a lot of pressure around Dave. I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted to one day be able to open his eyes. I wanted him to see what I was seeing, and not just that, I wanted him to see what God was putting in front of me as a vision. In hindsight, I don't think that was ever going to be possible, but I felt a lot of pressure in that season to make it happen. 

However much he believed or didn't believe in me, though, Dave kept introducing me around. Tagging along on what he was doing, he'd introduce me to his social connections with as much plain-fact as he could - who I was, what I was doing, what I was pursing, where I was headed. 

And through Dave's social connections, I made some really good friends who do believe in me. In what God's doing in me. Friends who have become great encouragers as my journey has progressed. 

As a result, I have learned a new way to be a good friend. 

There are things in this world that I'm just not into. Things I don't think are worthwhile. Things I don't understand. There are persons I just don't get, and no matter how big their eyes light up with excitement and anticipation over whatever they're dreaming of in their life, I just can't get on board. I don't see it. At least, I don't see it the same way. 

In the past, this has sometimes led me to be a naysayer. To be a person who tells them straight-up, the way Dave always told me, that I don't see it. To become a kind of gatekeeper, trying to steer them away from the entrance to this road. Because in all my wisdom having traveled it as far as I have, I feel pretty sure it's not for them. 

But then, I am but a human being. What do I know? 

Because of the relationships I have formed through Dave's introductions, I understand better now the importance of being an introducer. Of showing someone around and helping to make connections for them, even if I don't think it's a great idea or I don't understand.

I see the value in, if I cannot be an encourager, being an introducer. Giving others the opportunities to build their own relationships that might nurture them in ways that I simply cannot (or, stubbornly, will not). 

I have learned to check my stereotypes, to check my assumptions, to try to figure out why I think what I think, why I have the impression that I have, and I also have learned to scan my connections, to check my relationships, to figure out who is a good fit for one another. 

Because everyone deserves to have an encourager in their life, even in the seasons that don't look like they make any sense. The right group around you, the right mentor, the right support can change all of that and make it a beautiful thing. 

And so, if there's a way for me to be part of that, then I'm all in.