Dear Bryant

Dear Bryant,

            You have the world by the tail! Every need you have is met and you haven’t earned a thing. No joke! You have food whenever you whimper. You have clothes enough to wear something different every day. And because your Mimi steals everyone’s change in the house and puts it in a jar that your uncle JB and I have named the Bryant Shoe Fund, you have a pair of kicks for almost every occasion. You have a room that you contributed nothing to. Your mommy and daddy work every day to serve you. It is a crazy thing that is happening. The world that you were born into is selfish. Selfish and rude and hateful. But then there's you.

            Here is an intriguing thought though. Every human on the face of this great planet starts off the same way. If they grow up; somebody gave them something they didn’t deserve. But you kid. You give something that isn’t deserved every single day. You give people something that, for a brief moment, could be missed if not recognized. Actually, you give two things.

            Love and joy! And you, my little man, give them in their purest form. Unconditional. Innocent. Perfect. It’s innocent because you know nothing else. In your precious eyes there is no one there to hurt you so you have no bends toward race, gender, size or social structures. You accept (smile at) every single person you meet.

            I have seen the unconditional side of it also. Because of the innocence everybody gets a second and sometimes third chance with you. I accidentally mashed your little fingers one day, you screamed, I screamed, you cried, I almost did, I picked you up and held you close and in just a few minutes we were laughing together. Another time I accidentally hit you in the chin with a tray that slipped; see above for the actions that followed. Unconditional.

            Perfect because you love the way we are all supposed to. You assume the best in EVERYONE! You forgive immediately, even before the pain is gone because no one has taught you any different. You seem to live every moment as if it is the only one. I love that! I want that!

            While in Guatemala last week we spent many hours in vehicles traveling to various places to do what we were sent there to do. Some of the hours were spent in conversation but many of them were spent in silent thought, sleep or just rest. And as always I thought about my place in the world and the people around me. As I sat in on one of those long rides looking at the pure beauty of God’s creation and where I fit and what I was doing and what I should do, I thought of you little buddy and how you live.

             As a pastor I try so very hard to love like you. Like Jesus! I have never made a decision that I thought would hurt anyone, even though some of my decisions have. I have heard from this person or that person that someone had left the church “hurt”. And yet these “hurt” people never said that to me. And when I hear that I get angry and then sad and then I fight the urge to hold a grudge and become bitter so I forgive. I thought of the numbers of people that have passed through the doors of my church and stayed for a while before moving on to something newer, fresher, bigger, shinier. And I thought, “What should I do?”

            What is my responsibility when I desperately want to do the right thing? As we drove through the countryside I began to ask God what my next step in life was. I want to please Him but I want to know His plan. And whether it was God or maybe just timing, around then my wife or daughter sent me a picture of you. And here is what I heard!

            Love those around you… All of them! If they are willing to come where you are, love them. Genuine love, not fake. Smile and try to make their day better. If someone walks away, it’s okay to cry and miss them but don’t cry too long or you will hurt the ones still there needing your attention. If the person that left comes back, love them like they didn’t even leave. That’s what you do. More importantly, that’s what Jesus did. He said over and over to love and forgive. Forgive and love. And then do it again.

            So Bryant, I started this letter out to help you and ended up helping myself. It’s probably better this way because you are only 8 months old and it will be a few more weeks before you learn to read. Maybe mom can read it to you so you don’t have to wait. Either way, just do you buddy because from here, it looks like you have it all figured out!

Papa loves you and I have no doubt that you are going to have a great week!

Pastor Dad (Papa)