I almost didn’t show up for this….

Posted by Harmony Dust on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 · 10 Comments 

I almost didn’t show up for this….

She extended her delicate arm, decorated with richly colored tattoos, and took the little pink gift bag.

“What’s this for?” she asked leaning away from her customer.

“Just a little Valentine, to let you know you are loved” we replied briefly, remaining considerate of the fact that she was with a client.  She wanted to know more.  “We are a support group for women the business. Some of us have been in it too and we just want to let you know we are here for you.”

She tossed back a shot of tequila and placed a lime in her mouth.  “You know what.  I’m gonna keep your card.  I know I’m going to need it someday.”  She held my gaze for a moment and I knew she meant it.  The customer turned to order more drinks as she peered into her gift bag.  Her eyes welled with tears.  “Okay…I can’t cry now cuz I’m still working, but I am going to call you one day.”

As we hugged and parted ways, I couldn’t help but think I almost didn’t show up for this…I almost didn’t show up for her.

It had been one of those days.  A minor construction mishap at the new office that set us back a week.  Holiday traffic.  Rain.  Then, as our team was getting ready to leave for our outreach, we realized that the only person who had the keys to the closet where our gift bags are stored wasn’t there.  She was on the other side of town…on the other side of the traffic and the rain.  In nearly 8 years, we have never called off an outreach.  Rain or shine, we show up.  But as it was nearing 9pm with 12 clubs on our Hollywood route and no gift bags, I thought, maybe we just shouldn’t go tonight. The team could probably use a night off.  Right?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I realized that the challenges we were facing were probably all the more reason we SHOULD go.  So the key-holder braved the rain and traffic while the team waited patient and hopeful—knowing it would be a night worth the minor inconvenience because the women we are reaching are worth the extra time and effort.

I have been reading Acts lately and following the story of how Paul felt so compelled to go to Jerusalem.  Everyone and their mother was telling Paul not to go there.  Warning him, begging him.  But Paul was convinced that he had to show up.

He didn’t know what would happen when he got there, but the one thing he knew was that it was his job to tell the people in Jerusalem about the “incredibly extravagant generosity of God” (Acts 20:24).   And when his well-meaning friends tried to convince him again, he made a powerful statement, “You’re looking at this backward. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?” (Acts 21:13).

There is a bigger picture.  Paul knew that.  Our obedience means something.  Someone else’s life course is attached to our willingness to show up.

Some people think we shouldn’t be showing up at strip clubs and porn conventions.  They warn of the dangers awaiting us there.  But we are compelled.  And if there is one thing we know, it is that we must tell them about the incredibly extravagant generosity of God.

Thankfully in Los Angeles in 2011, we aren’t facing the kind of challenges the early and persecuted churches have faced.  A little traffic and rain are minor snags in the scheme of things.  But the truth is, obedience still costs us something.  And I am convinced that the people who are impacted by our choices are worth it.

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

www.iamatreasure.com