And This is Love... Seminar Style!

I was in a class at a conference. The speaker's dais was situated directly in front of the only door. Before starting, the instructor passed out worksheets to every on-time attendee. Conferences being what they are, she knew others would straggle in, so she placed a pile of flyers on a chair in the unpopulated front row and asked us to point them out to every latecomer entering the room.

We tried - we really did - but straggler after straggler ignored our pointing fingers. Understandable considering they were seen by every non-late person upon entering and would have to come back to the front, be seen by everyone again, to discover what our pointing fingers indicated. With eyes averted, person after person rushed in, shrank back at the assault of 50 or so pairs of eyes watching them, and tip-toed to the back rows, hoping to be forgotten. And they were, by me and by everyone else - except Stephen.

The third or fourth time a person walked in without getting a worksheet, Stephen picked up the whole pile of worksheets and made his way around the room, delivering one to each latecomer.

From then until the end of class, he stayed on task. Each time someone entered and ignored the pointing fingers, he'd rise, walk to wherever they sat, and deliver the valued item. He never hesitated, never grumbled, but met every person where they were and performed his self-appointed function with a smile.

I have to admit, doing as he did never entered my mind. I was perfectly happy pointing and didn't much care if I was ignored. He, on the other hand, was more focused on the well-being of his fellow students, demonstrating in superb fashion what love does and what love is.

Blessings!

Daniel W. Shegrud