Last night, I had a dream. Like all dreams it was strange and weird, but the important part of it was about one of my Bible School teachers. I've been thinking a lot about him and praying for him as he was in surgery just recently. Things are still not easy, but he's coming home today.
In my dream, Butch was running in a race with a group of younger people. He was running alongside each one and cheering them on. He was in the race. He was involved in what these young people were doing.
He wasn't cheering from the sidelines. He wasn't yelling at them to go faster.
He was cheering them on while experiencing the same things they were experiencing. It's a whole lot easier to hear someone encourage you to keep it up if they are as tired and worn-out as you are, if they've run the same steps as you have.
Honestly, in real life, Butch and his wife are like this too. They come alongside the younger group of believers at this Bible school and help them and encourage them in their walks with the Lord. This is their passion. This is their life. Butch is convinced that God isn't finished with him yet. I sure hope not.
I want to be someone who comes alongside, who runs with the runner and encourages them to keep moving. We can't always be experiencing all the same things that someone else is at the moment. But we can try to walk in their shoes, we can try to get down to their level. Or over to their level. I don't mean they are lower or higher than us, but we do have to humble ourselves by lowering ourselves in our own eyes, and thinking of others as more important than us.
The best place for me to start is with my kids. Sometimes it's hard for me to enjoy listening to their reports on the latest game they were playing. I don't have to love playing those games, but I can enjoy the time spent with them listening to their thoughts.
Thanks, Butch for your great example to all of us! You've impacted so many lives so far.
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